the storyteller

Announcing the end of this blog, and the beginning of a new one.

2008-11-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

Salaam, all.

To keep in touch with my work, my thoughts, and my films, please go to yasminthefilmmaker.blogspot.com

See you there!

Check out the size of that!

2008-11-16T14:24:00.001-08:00

How the Singaporeans renewed my faith in people.

2008-11-16T03:15:00.000-08:00

As you can see from the bunting above, "Muallaf" opens in Singapore in about 11 days' time. Faced with a distribution budget of miniscule proportions, Thomas Chia, the director of Lighthouse Pictures, has been working 24/7 to spread the news about our little film.

If you're on facebook, just type "Muallaf" in the search box, and it'll take you to this page. Through this, the ever resourceful Thomas Chia sent out an appeal for help to distribute "Muallaf" flyers.

Personally, I thought it was a shot in the dark. But boy, was I wrong.

Regular Singaporean folks -- students, lecturers, restaurant owners, cybercafe owners, website holders, members of film societies -- have come forward, asking for 50 to 200 flyers per person, which they volunteered to distribute.

Dear kind Singaporeans, you know who you are. And I can't thank you enough for your willingness to support our film, just out of the kindness of your heart.

Now, I have no idea how "Muallaf" will do at the box office. After all, it is only playing at The Picturehouse.

But you Singaporeans have done something worth much more than ticket sales. You have refreshed my faith in Mankind.

Thank you and God bless.

He plays a crucial role in "Talentime".

2008-11-15T07:31:00.000-08:00

His name is Howard Hon Kahoe. I liked his name so much that his character in the film is actually called Kahoe.

Acting alongside Mahesh Jugal Kishore and the now 16 years old Mohd Syafie Naswip, Kahoe is among the most arresting looking actors I've ever employed in any of my films.

As we lined up the three boys to take a photo for our records, Jit Murad cast a disdainful glance at me and said, "You've sold out and turned into a lookist!"

"That can't be entirely true, Jit," I replied casually, "or I wouldn't have hired you."

"Artists today think of everything they do as a work of art. It is important to forget about what you are doing - then a work of art may happen."

2008-11-09T19:18:00.000-08:00

The quote and paintings above were by Andrew Wyeth, an early 20th century American painter.

I was introduced to his work by my partner and soulmate Ali Mohammed, the Chairman Meritus of Leo Burnett Advertising, the agency I work for.

No person alive has been as encouraging of my work, both as an advertising writer and a filmmaker, as much as Ali. We've worked with each other for 25 years. More than a mentor, Ali is the older brother I never had.

I remember well the severe criticism I received after making my first feature-length film "Rabun":

"Your work is nothing more than television drama," said a bedraggled looking old film graduate once.

"Before coming to watch 'Rabun', I expected a tsunami movie experience. But it turns out that this amateurish piece of work is just a ripple," said a drama lecturer from a local institution.

"Yasmin is trapped in her own dreamworld of ideals," said many on Kakiseni and some local papers.

Ali, on the other hand, said, "You are expressing a feeling, Min. A totally personal feeling which you want to share with people. By looking at your work, I get a privileged glimpse into what dwells in your heart. And that is enough for me. Some people will want to put you down and engage themselves in extensive debate about what is 'wrong' or 'right' in what they refer to as 'art'. But my advice is for you to push on. Sooner or later, inshaallah, if you remain honest with your films, more and more people will come up to you and confess how your work has affected their personal lives and their feelings."

"I get letters from people about my work. The thing that pleases me most is that my work touches their feelings. In fact, they don't talk about the paintings. They end up telling me the story of their life or how their father died." - Andrew Wyeth

The reason I'm writing this is not to boast some sort of comeuppance to my detractors in the past. I don't even consider myself an artist, let alone one whose work comes anywhere near as good as Andrew Wyeth's. But I feel this is something I need to say to new, struggling filmmakers out there who, despite their best intentions, often find their work spat at by naysayers.

If you're honest with your work, feel free to come back to this posting to read what dear Ali said to me, all those years ago.

Follow your inner instincts. Because, as Mr.Wyeth himself once said, "If you clean it up, get analytical, all the subtle joy and emotion you felt in the first place goes flying out the window."

Today, after making about 50 television commercials and six feature-length films, after winning 11 international awards, I often feel like I don't know the first thing about filmmaking. But I know this much:

If your intentions are pure, if you apply your craft with a view to observe humanity and, ultimately, God himself, very often something powerful will surface. And the next thing you know, hordes of strangers from all around the world are stepping forward to tell you "the story of their life or how their father died."

Nice way to end the week.

2008-11-08T03:21:00.000-08:00

It's called the Anugerah Khas Juri (Special Jury Prize), and it's really heavy because it's made of solid pewter.

As far as I could tell from the dedication/citation video which they played before beckoning me on stage, it was an award for outstanding achievements abroad. Nice.

Alhamdulillah.

The opening frame for "Talentime".

2008-11-06T15:34:00.000-08:00

Can my Tamil-reading brothers and sisters help explain what this says to everyone here?

Too big to be shown in full size!

2008-11-05T01:55:00.000-08:00

"Muallaf" just won a prize in Japan!

2008-10-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

Praise the good Lord almighty.

As the older members of The Storyteller Club will remember, "Sepet" won the Best Asian Film award at the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival.

This year, that section just cast its net wider to include the Middle-East, making it even tougher than before.

I just received two emails from two very good friends, simultaneously. One from Stefan Shih of MovieXclusive Singapore, and another one from brilliant Japanese filmmaker Yoichiro Takahashi, both very excitedly informing me that our film "Muallaf" had just been given a Special Mention Best Asian-Middle Eastern Film award. The first prize went to a film from Turkey called "My Marlon and Brando".

What can I say? I'm just so grateful, and so crazy happy about this, that I could cry.

Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah!

An email from Japan.

2008-10-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

"Dear Yasmin,

Sorry for the sudden email. This is Sawaka Kawashima, Pamela's friend who visited Ipoh during the filming of 'Talentime'.

I had wanted to express my gratitude for letting us watch the shooting of your movie and was thinking about leaving a comment on your blog.

Then I came across your email and thought I should email you instead.

Thank you so much for letting us be on the set when you must have been busy. Hope it was not a bother.

And it was great meeting you even though brief. It was really inspiring and I was quite impressed and learned a lot. It was such a creative but at the same time warm environment. I cannot wait for the movie to come out!

By the way, congratulations for the movie Muallaf! I saw it in the Tokyo Film Festival last week. The theater was full and it was actually very had to get tickets for.

It was amazing! It really was inspirational, and at the same time, funny. The difficult subject of religion was so ingeniously touched that I was very impressed.

As one of your friends wrote on your blog, there was a big round of applause when the film ended.

I laughed at the bra scene, the puppy scene and there was even some laugher when the sisters were trying to spook the principal telling that the house is haunted and a cat comes out.

The scene where Ani's hair is shaved was a great shock, but I could really relate to her and the interaction she had with her father.

I myself am a pseudo Catholic, but watching the movie made me want to read the Koran. It is quite amazing, there are many similarities between these religions when somehow these are considered to be very different.

Thank you so much for the movie! I have to say it really was one of the most inspiring movies I have watched recently.

Also, congratulations for 'Wasurenagusa'! I must say I love the title. I am so happy that you are doing a Malaysian-Japanese collaboration movie.

I have to say honestly that before I met Pam and Vanessa in the race, I did not really know much about South East Asia.

But after I was introduced to the whole new world, I was quite surprised how all other countries in South East Asia interact with each other, and in a way, Japan is on its own, without reaching out to the other countries.

And sadly, I think people in Japan do not know much about the other Asian countries, except now maybe Korea, and some China.

I hope this movie becomes a bridge between the two countries.

If there is anything I can do to help for this, please let me know. It would be amazing if I could help in such great project.

Sorry for the long email. Thank you for reading it.

Best regards,
Sawaka"

What Malaysians will see.

2008-10-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of the recent holy month of Ramadan, just three days before Hari Raya, my crew and I headed for Ipoh, to shoot the commercial you see here.

We had to wake up for sahur at five every morning, and then go off to our location at the Advance Aeronautics pilot training school, to start shooting early.

It was hot and humid, but most of the Muslims among us pushed on with the fasting, partly because it was a good challenge to our spirit, and also because we were hoping for God's blessings on our shoot. We liked what the story stood for, and felt the message was meaningful for the trying times ahead, so that helped us keep good cheer while working without food or drink.

The result of it is this simple film which moves me every time I see it, and, I hope, moves you too.

To view this commercial in better quality, go to the Petronas festive website below:

http://www.petronasgreetings.com/deepavali2008/index.asp

Happy viewing, and to our Hindu brothers and sisters, have a joyful and peaceful Deepavali.

What the Singaporeans will see.

2008-10-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

A friend told me recently that one local paper attacked me for always showing my films in Singapore before Malaysia. I didn't read the article, but apparently they accused me of being disloyal, or words to that effect.

Truth beknown, the reason for this is that the Singaporeans are just quicker on the uptake than we are.

For example, while Malaysia was only interested in "Rabun" for a slot on TV, the Singaporeans lapped it up for the Singapore International Film Festival. From there, it travelled to international film festivals in Italy, France, Greece, Taiwan and Japan.

While the Malaysian censorship board was busy threatening to ban "Sepet", the Singaporeans picked it up for theatrical release, without cuts, and played it for six weeks! From there, "Sepet" went on to win the Grand Prix du Jury in Paris, and the Best Asian Film Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Worse still, "Sepet" finally did play in Malaysia, but my poor beloved compatriots had to put up with EIGHT cuts, imposed upon it by the wise old men of our censorship board.

But you know what? Allah knows best. One huge advantage of showing your films in Singapore first is that you lower the risk of piracy. The Singaporeans just don't pirate. It's as simple as that. If you release your films in Malaysia first, it will quickly be copied and the pirated dvd's will be smuggled into Singapore. By then, it would be pointless to put it out into Singaporean cinema theatres.

So here it is. A poster the Singaporeans will see, for a film the Singaporeans will watch, with no cuts. Alhamdulillah.

I'm not disloyal, my dear fellow Malaysians. I'm just a victim of circumstance.

Without Make-Up!

2008-10-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

The holy month of Ramadhan can change you.

During the last one, I was asked by Evangeliss Yh-Hwong to pose for some portraits, as part of a series featuring everyone involved in the making of our "Here In My Home" music video.

Ordinarily, I would take great pains to apply make-up for such photo sessions. A little translucent foundation, dusting powder, pink blusher, mascarra, and light lipstick. Nothing heavy, but light stuff that make you look slightly better but in as natural a way as possible.

The thing is, I had never gone for a photo shoot during Ramadhan before. In that month, I choose to go about my work sans make-up, as it's easier to perform my 'solat' (Muslim prayers) without having to go through the tedious ritual of make-up removal. While I'm on the run, whenever I hear the call for prayers somewhere, I can just pop into any nearby mosque to worship the One who provides me with all I have, including each breath that fills my lungs.

So this is how I look mostly these days. Thanks to that one photo shoot, I am now in the habit of going around bare-faced, even though Ramadhan is over.

And it's so liberating! Now you can choose to love me (or not, as the case may be), warts, freckles and all.

God works in mysterious ways.

The sudden, unexpected, and unplanned blossoming of one "Forget-Me-Not".

2008-10-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

In the autumn of 2006, Sharifah Amani and I were invited to attend a festival called "Paris Cinema". They were screening a retrospective of my films, and therefore offered to sponsor our flight and accommodation so we could attend the Q&A sessions.

While we were there, we met a sweet smiling Japanese gentleman by the name of Kousuke Ono. (Believe it or not, he is the nephew of Yoko Ono, and was about to rush off to have tea with his cousin Sean Lennon when we first met!)

One evening over dinner, Ono-san suggested that he and I should embark upon a Malaysian-Japanese co-production. Now, film producers often say such things to you at film festivals, but nothing usually comes out of it. It is just a form of nicety that filmmakers exchange with each other when they meet in faraway lands.

Producer: "Oh, I loved your films! We should work together someday." Director: "Ah, thank you for attending the screening. Yes, let's keep in touch." Muah, muah!

A few weeks after Paris-Cinema, I was home again, busily preparing for some TV commercial shoot, when I opened my gmail and came across a letter from Ono-san.

"Yasmin-san, I was serious about working together," he said, "let's keep in touch, and oh, please send my regards to Sharifah Amani." "Ah, that would be great!" I replied, and left it at that, thinking he was probably trying to find a way to Amani through me. (You should see how men of ALL nationalities fall at her feet, every time she attends a festival abroad!)

But in the course of the months to come, dear Ono-san had hired a Malay-speaking co-producer, Yusuke, to keep urging me to take on the project. So much so, I eventually yielded and wrote a synopsis called "Wasurenagusa" (the Japanese name for the forget-me-not flowers which you see here.) It was to be the story of Inom, a young Malay girl whose ailing grandmother is Japanese, and how she finds her way to Japan, to learn more about her roots.

In the middle of shooting "Talentime", I received an email from the Pusan International Film Festival. 30 film ideas had been shortlisted from almost 300 submissions to Pusan. Among the shortlist was my "Forget-Me-Not", and the email conveyed the festival's offer to pay for my flight and accommodation to attend the pitch. Out of the 30 shortlisted, only 6 would receive prizes. The 1st prize was called The Pusan Award.

My mind reeled from the thought that someone actually took pains to collate the bits and pieces of ideas that I had for "Wasurenagusa" and submitted it to Asia's biggest film festival!

Next thing I knew, I was sitting at a table in a hall at Paradise Hotel in Pusan. Ono-san and Kiki-san were with me. At the other 29 tables were some highly-respected filmmakers from around Asia and the Middle-East. Even Lee Chang-Dong, the genius who made "The Secret Sunshine", was in competition.

This was how it worked:

Film investors from all over the world would take turns to visit your table, tell you about their organisation, and then they sit back and listen to your story and ideas. That's it.

One day before the announcement of the results, I flew back to KL. This was last Sunday. "No point in staying," I thought, "I have to get back to work tomorrow. And besides, we're NEVER gonna win this."

I was wrong. Alhamdulillah.

Malaysian/Japanese co-production film project wins the top award in Pusan, Korea.

2008-10-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

6 Oct 2008 13:42

"Malaysian director Yasmin Ahmad's 'Forget-Me-Not', which is being produced by Japan's Wa Entertainment, picked up the $20,000 Pusan Award at the closing of the Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP) on Monday night.

The project tells the story of a Malay girl who goes to visit her relatives in Japan after her Japanese grandmother dies. The cash award is granted every year by Busan Metropolitan City.

'Poetry', which is being directed by Korea's Lee Chang-dong (Secret Sunshine) was awarded the $20,000 Kodak award for a Korean project. Fine Cut is handling international sales of the project, about a woman in her mid-sixties living in poverty who endeavors to compose a poem for the first time in her life.

The $10,000 Busan Film Commission (BFC) Award went to Chinese director Zhang Yuan's Executioner Garden, a grisly tale set in a Shanghai prison, to be produced by Beijing Jingle Culture Development Co.

Korean-French co-production A Brand New Life, to be directed by Ounie Lecomte, picked up the $10,000 OKF Fund award, which is presented by the Overseas Korean Foundation to a project from an overseas Korean.

The Goteborg Film Festival Fund gave its award, designed to support the selected filmmaker's travelling and accommodation costs, to Iranian director Mona Zandi's The Bride.

The Wooridul Award, newly launched this year for Korean projects, went to Jung Bum-shik's Eugenia.

This year, the PPP scaled back on the number of projects to a more manageable 30 compared to 35 last year. Around 500 meetings were held during market's four days (Oct 3-6)."

- Liz Shackleton, Screen Daily.

And he doesn't even know how good he is.

2008-09-13T16:13:00.000-07:00

Even when we first auditioned Mohd Syafie Naswip (now more commonly known as Mukhsin) two and a half years ago, we knew the boy had this intense energy inside him. The smile was kind and gentle, but the eyes were slightly fearful. They gaze at you as if to say, "Please don't hurt me, I've been hurt enough."

Well, the boy is now a man. And man, does he have some horror stories to tell about being on some of the TV drama sets he'd been in!

Apparently, having been in a "Yasmin Ahmad film" carries with it some heavy baggage when you go on some other teams' sets and locations. You get directors shouting at you words like, "So you think you're good, do you?" And, "Don't think you're special just because you were in that film. What's so good about Yasmin's films, anyway?" And the worst of all, "Cry! Cry now! I want to see tears! Why no tears? What a crap actor you are!"

Sharifah Amani, who considers herself Mukhsin's big sister, often gets furious when she hears such stories. "Who said that to you? Who! I'll whop their asses to kingdom come!" Mukhsin, nice boy that he is, always refuses to divulge names. He'd just smile that gentle smile and coyly say, "Don't worry, Kak Nani. I'm ok. Maybe I wasn't very good, that's why they got angry. They're not all like that, anyway. Some are very kind. And besides, it's not as if they hit me or anything."

When we started rehearsals for "Talentime", some of us were wondering how Mukhsin would hold up, playing opposite Azean Irdawaty, quite possibly the finest and most accomplished actress in the history of Malaysian cinema. But he held his own, alright. What you will see on big screen, inshaallah, will not be a star and a novice, but two accomplished actors playing mother and son, in some of the most moving scenes I've ever shot.

Alhamdulillah.

When stars fall asleep.

2008-09-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

In the script, I had written, "Melur looks clean and showered, dressed in her usual boy-style pyjamas. She’s lying on the floor of the living room. Mahesh is also lying on the floor. They both have a pillow each and they’re facing each other, their legs stretched out in the opposite direction."

When it came to shooting the scene, I had an idea to make them do more than face each other. We made him teach her his language.

It was a quiet moment that turned out more sensuous than we thought. They were speaking, but you will hear nothing, except for the gentle, dreamy strains of Claude Debussy's "Claire de Lune" ("Moonlight").

Then, tired out by the day's activities, they fell asleep. We framed it quite closely at first, but it looked too much like that table scene from Wong Kar-Wai's "My Blueberry Nights".

Then my cinematographer did something miraculous. He framed them loose and pushed to the corner of the frame, and then he rotated the camera clockwise, causing the bodies to float across the frame until they finally rested in the centre. I gasped. Suddenly, they were more than just Melur and Mahesh.

They looked like the constellation, orbiting against the sky. They were so close, but they did not touch. They were two sleeping stars that looked as if they had been together for millions of years. They looked destined to be together.

They became the Yin-Yang.

"It's a wrap!"

2008-08-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

On the night of August 29th, our 3rd Assistant Director Sharifah Amani stood on a chair and announced, "It's a wrap!"

After nearly 2 months of intense rehearsals, principal shooting began on August 17th. We had a 1 day break in the middle, so that makes it 12 days of shooting for "Talentime", just like "Sepet", "Mukhsin", and "Muallaf" before it.

Honestly, this was not something we planned. 12 days was all we needed, alhamdulillah, and if you had given us extra days to play around with, we wouldn't have known what to do with them.

Nani's announcement was greeted with wild applause and cheering, of course. People started shaking hands and hugging, and that's when the tears began.

This was a bunch of 60 to 70 people who had been having breakfast-lunch-tea-dinner-supper together for 3 weeks. We had toiled together, slept together (separate rooms for boys and girls, of course, but all next door to each other). We had laughed together, and cried together.

These weren't co-workers or colleagues anymore, this group of people had become a FAMILY.

Everyone was relieved that all that hard work was finally over, but no one wanted to say goodbye. Men and women, boys and girls, we were all teary-eyed.

Some of the younger actors were sobbing convulsively. I was halfway through comforting the tearful lady who played Melur's grandmother, when the kids came up to me and said, "Mak, you'd better come and attend to Kahoe (the boy who plays the erhu), cos he can't stop crying."

We were also lucky to have in our cast that outrageously talented singer who goes by the name of Jaclyn Victor. Jac (or Bhavani, as we call her on set) just took to the microphone and sang her heart out. What a treat!

When Jac started singing "I will always love you", there was a lump in everyone's throat and even some outsiders dropped by to have a listen.

It started to drizzle, but we didn't care. As far as we were concerned, rain is God's blessing, so in the end people just came out from under the shelter of the tents and started dancing in the rain.

But I must say, the most moving moment of the evening for me happened a few minutes before Nani's announcement. It happened when our special guest Ustaz went to the front and said a prayer of thanks on our behalf.

While holding the palms of my hands up to say "Ameen", I surveyed the area to look at my big new-found family and saw that the folks of other races were also holding their hands up and saying "Amen". There was so much love and so much trust there that everyone automatically assumed that the prayer, although in Arabic and not understood by all, was a good prayer that could only ask for good things for us all. It was a moment so overwhelmingly powerful for me that the hair on the back of neck stood on end and the tears were unstoppable.

Allah is generous beyond our comprehension.

Sister and brother.

2008-08-31T15:25:00.000-07:00

The boy who plays the guitar.

2008-08-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

The boy who plays the erhu.

2008-08-31T10:51:00.000-07:00

The youngest sister's name is Melati.

2008-08-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

Three sisters and a father.

2008-08-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

"Words say too much. Love comes in silence." - Mahesh

2008-08-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

Two stars and the moon.

2008-08-29T02:33:00.000-07:00

"Mahesh look," she said, pointing to the night sky. "Because I'm lonely, the night sticks her tongue out at me... half moon."

The scene that left us all solemn and quiet.

2008-08-28T00:52:00.000-07:00

A scene from "Talentime".

2008-08-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

At the end of a heartbreaking scene in the film, a Hindi song by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is heard. The words say, "It feels like I've been raised by strangers... please take me into your world..."

The song ends on a 12-year old Indian girl dancing like an angel on stage. Our hair stood on end as we filmed her floating across the floor, in moves that spelled deep love and heartache.

We're off to shoot a movie!

2008-08-11T06:05:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, inshaallah I'll be flying to Bali to judge for the Indonesian advertising awards. I'll only be there one night though, because the very next day, on Wednesday evening, I'm scheduled to fly back to KL.

Why? Because on Thursday, my entire production crew and I will be heading for Ipoh to make "Talentime", inshaallah.

We plan to rehearse our actors at three different locations before principal shooting starts on Sunday.

The picture you see here shows two of our leads in the story. (Yes, there are more than two!)

Wish us luck, and assalaamualaikum!

Probably the most detailed, most considered, and most positive review so far for "Mukhsin".

2008-08-10T09:08:00.001-07:00

It was written in the U.S., by a gentleman by the name of Michael Sicinski, in a website called The Academic Hack.

I must thank Amir for the heads-up.

The review can be found at http://academichack.net/reviewsAugust2008.htm and it reads like so:

"I've been at a bit of a loss to explain just exactly what it was about Mukhsin that gradually blew me away. As I've allowed my reaction to Ahmad's film to steep like tea in my mind, I've started to realize that my difficulty in articulating the precision and wonder of Mukhsin directly pertains to Ahmad's status as a criminally underrated international director whose earlier work I must catch up with immediately. Mukhsin is characterized by patience and restraint; there is nary a close-up in the film, and most of the action occurs in medium-long master shots that often render the films two young protagonists hazy and even somewhat typical. But this set of formalist remarks could be attributed to any number of Asian films of the last twenty to thirty years. This is not to sell Ahmad short; she displays subtle, exquisite handling of cinematography and mise en scène. Interiors often bear an off-kilter Ozuian rectilinear depth; slight camera movements and graceful readjustments within close quarters echo Mizoguchi without any ostentatiousness; her outdoor shots effortlessly embed her figures in radiant magic-hour landscapes, demonstrating a tactile yet quasi-spiritual treatment of light that would indeed hold its own alongside Apichatpong. But as you watch Mukhsin, you actually have to actively attune your mind to these formal elements, since they are so organically woven with Ahmad's story values. And this, I think, is why it's possible to watch Mukhsin, and possibly other Ahmad films, without really seeing them. Her directorial touch is light and supple, defined by what it doesn't do. Mukhsin never swaggers across the screen like "art cinema," even though it is incontestably a cinematic work of art.

In narrative terms, Mukhsin is a story of puppy love curtailed. Again, this in itself might send serious film critics moving in the other direction, although Ahmad's sensitive, intelligent treatment is more Blue Gate Crossing than Shunj Iwai. Orked (Sharifah Aryana Syed Zainal Rashid) is a tomboyish 10-year-old who takes a shine to the new boy, Mukhsin (Muhammad Syafie bin Naswip) after she chunks a football at him hard enough for him to let her join an all-boys game. Their hesitant blossoming friendship, with walks and bike rides and Koran study and Mukhsin staying with Orked's hip parents for dinner, serves as the fulcrum around which Ahmad sends numerous other bits of narrative coloratura. Operating in a nearly Renoirian register, Ahmad grants all of the film's marginal business a remarkable depth of implied social and emotional context, to say nothing of an abiding generosity of character. Orked's "differently ambitious" musician father and outspoken, British-educated, English-speaking mother, for example, flout conventional Malay gender roles as well as ethnic codes of decorum. Neighbors remark on this, and Ahmad allows this to become a source of tension at certain moments in the film. But for the most part, this "issue" is left unresolved, since it is not an issue, as such. Likewise Mukhsin's acknowledgment of liberal Muslims' conflicts with tradition, and Malaysia's overall grapple with modernity in all forms; the tensions between ethnic Malays and ethnic Chinese; and the need for frank and open discussion of sexuality, in particular among women. Ahmad never drops these very real social concerns into the film as "topics for edification;" rather they emerge naturally, as they would in the course of life in a culture in transition. Ahmad activates a field of complex questions, without ever purporting to supply answers.

Instead, Mukhsin dramatizes, within the drama itself, the very real social forces that impinge on and swirl around two young people simply trying to grow up, learn to write their school themes, steal a kiss, put a bully in his place, or hide an erection. I do not want to make grandiose claims for Mukhsin, not because the film cannot withstand them -- the film is excellent -- but because Ahmad's craft, her art, is premised on a fundamental humility, and to overburden the film with theoretical grandstanding runs counter to its very nature. (Then again, its the very unassuming quality of Ahmad's mastery that seems to be preventing the film intelligentsia from taking this film as seriously as it should.) But so-called Transnational Feminist theorists would do well to examine Ahmad's work, since like them, Mukhsin is about complexifying the world, deepening interconnections, delving into the messiness of the conundrums that women face, and moving outward, forging even more connections. At Mukhsin's conclusion, Ahmad delivers a voiceover that informs us that she was Orked, and that she found love again later, and the film is in part a dedication to Mukhsin in hope that he did too. And so, among other things, Mukhsin is Ahmad's absolutely specific examination of a moment in time from the subject position of a 10-year-old girl, with the recognition that whatever time, tide, and patriarchy may have done to Mukhsin, he was there in the thick of it with Orked, a comrade in the fight just to become. This, in addition to being profoundly moving art, is a dual triumph for feminism and humanism, one in which neither sells the other short."

Rabbana wa lakalhamdu. I only wish I knew how to contact Mr. Sicinski, so I can send him dvd's of "Rabun", "Sepet", and "Gubra".

Sigh.

I really liked it.

2008-08-07T10:09:00.001-07:00

susuk
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

I just came out of "Susuk".

To me, in it's barest form, "Susuk" is the story of people who would stop at nothing to get to the top, and having reached it, refuse to come down.

I'm not saying it's a political satire; I'm saying it's a satire on those most destructive of human foibles: greed and vanity.

What a relief to watch a Malay horror film that despite not taking itself too seriously, was seriously spooky in parts. This, as opposed to many Asian horror flicks, local or otherwise, that DO take themselves seriously, but leave me guffawing inside.

I won't say if "Susuk" is a good film or not (because I don't know what a good film is, and I prefer to leave such solemn foolery to some of the local critics), but what I CAN say is that I liked it very much.

The kitsch art direction that was bursting with its makers' wicked sense of humour; the homage to Argento, Almodovar, Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi; the shameless but totally knowing and tongue-in-cheek borrowing of images from "The Godfather", "Hellraiser", and countless others... all this led to a thoroughly enjoyable movie experience for me.

Walking out of the cinema hall, I felt a strange sense of relief. "How lovely," I thought, "to watch a local film made by genuinely smart filmmakers who didn't have their heads up their own arses, and who seemed to have fun playing with film."

Nice.

The girls in "Talentime".

2008-07-24T04:29:00.000-07:00

It's a really tough film festival to get into. But alhamdulillah, our "Muallaf" got in.

2008-07-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

To see where Locarno stands in the line-up of first tier international film festivals, just go to the address below:

http://www.fiapf.org/intfilmfestivals_sites.asp

The Fairly Current Show, Episode 6.

2008-07-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

It's a bit sick, I know, but we had a great time shooting it!

2008-07-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

The "Talentime" boys.

2008-07-08T03:28:00.000-07:00

Making me cry even when he is singing WITHOUT music backing.

2008-07-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

Put him in a ridiculous purple jacket and he can STILL make me cry.

2008-07-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

He made me cry.

2008-07-04T11:15:00.001-07:00

The very first scene in "Talentime".

2008-06-30T01:06:00.001-07:00

1 Morning. Int. Exam hall.

Close-up of the hands of a Malay boy (Hafiz). On his table, we see a test paper. The questions are in multiple choice answer format. The boy, instead of answering the questions, is presently carving an eraser with a cutter blade. He is shaping it into a cube.

Loose shot of a teacher (Cikgu Tan) walking around the hall to see that the students are behaving themselves. He does a Hitlerian walk.

We hear the occasional cough of a student. Cikgu Tan turns sharply and casts an accusatory glance around the hall, turns back again, and resumes his walk.

Some of the boys and girls look at each other and giggle at Cikgu Tan’s peculiar behaviour.

Just then, another school teacher, a stout Malay man named Cikgu Anuar, taps on the entrance of the hall, to catch Cikgu Tan’s attention. Cikgu Tan turns to the students and announces:

CIKGU TAN:
Ten-hut! Buat kerja sendiri! Jangan tiru orang.
Saya keluar sekejap! At eeeaaase!

He steps out in haste to meet with Cikgu Anuar.

Back to Hafiz. Once done carving out the cube, he uses a marker to put dots on the faces of the cube. He is turning it into a dice! When the dice is ready, he tosses it. The upward face has three dots, so he shades the answer “C” on his test paper.

Vincent, a Chinese boy sitting nearby, watches Hafiz with suspicion and disgust.

Malaysia wins her first ever Gold Lion for film in Cannes.

2008-06-21T10:34:00.001-07:00

For the first time in the history of Malaysian advertising, a Malaysian television commercial was awarded a Gold Lion at the Cannes Advertising Festival, 2008.

That commercial was made for Petronas, and is entitled "Tan Hong Ming In Love".

Another commercial in the same campaign, "Race", was given the Bronze Lion in the same category.

This clocks up the number of awards this Petronas campaign has won internationally to 21, making it one of the most awarded advertising campaign, from anywhere in the world, in the last 12 months.

Alhamdulillah. I am both stunned and humbled by what God can do.

Choosing colours for a film.

2008-06-20T08:12:00.001-07:00

This is how we handle colours for our shoots. It is partly inspired by some film literature we read years ago. One particular book described the way the Coen brothers dealt with colours for their 1984 film, "Blood Simple".

Firstly, we constantly remind ourselves that the two most important aspects of a film are 1) the story, and 2) the characters. It sounds almost too simple, but believe me, it isn't.

Remember, every scene tells a story, and every character has a story behind him/her.

We also choose locations carefully because they too tell a story. They each have a history, sometimes dating back before we were even born. And how closely or loosely we frame the scene depends on the feeling we want to impart.

For example, in Sepet, we wanted Orked's family home always to look spacious and airy. This was not a random decision, but a reflection of her family's personality.

The staircase behind Maggie's bedroom, on the other hand, was dank, sleazy and hidden. So that when the half-dressed Jason descended that staircase, there was a feeling that they had just commited something forbidden.

The flat we chose for our Singapore commercial was extremely small. This was important, to show that the father was by no means wealthy.

However, at the same time, we needed to show that there was plenty of love in that flat.

To fulfill these conflicting requirements, we picked a flat that was small, but had happy motifs on its walls. We also removed most of the furniture, keeping it relatively bare and breezy.

As it so happened, the motifs on the walls were largely green. Green, if suitably light, is a very calming colour that can give the illusion of space.

We knew that the girl in the story had to appear a little feisty, temperamental, and spoilt. That's when we decided to attach red things to her, starting with her school bag, followed by the shoes she chose, and the bra she wanted.

As we were shooting the commercial, we saw in the playback monitor that the angry little spot of red was often enveloped by green surroundings. This pleased us because it gave a feeling that something small and fiery was enveloped by something vast, calm, and benevolent.

In other words, it was precisely the way Kenny Mah noted in his comment. (Very insightful of you, Kenny.)

Towards the end of our pre-production, just a few days before the shoot, my costume artist approached me and asked, "Would you like the teenage girl's school uniform to be blue or green?"

I smiled.

My first full-fledged commercial for Singapore.

2008-06-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

Early this year, the Singapore Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports commissioned me to direct a public service commercial for them.

The objective was to stress the importance of the family.

When I asked them why me, they said they had been following my work for Petronas, and felt I was suitable for the project at hand.

It was such an honour to be approached by the Singapore government that I immediately agreed to do the job. The script was co-written by Moon of MHz Films and me.

About a month ago, after I had shot the film, they did a citizen research on it.

Now, the average Singaporean commercial will get the go-ahead if it scored around 5 or 6/10. If a commercial scored a 7/10, this would be considered a sure-winner.

The commercial we shot, the one you see here, scored a walloping 8.9/10! Alhamdulillah.

Who will play the lead girl in "Talentime"?

2008-06-15T22:32:00.001-07:00

who is she?

Due to an unfortunate clash of schedules, I won't have Sharifah Amani, my beloved Audrey Hepburn, to play the heroine's role of Melur in our next film.

But, alhamdulillah, I've found someone.

She's supremely intelligent, very bubbly, has a wonderful sense of humour, and best of all, very humble and down-to-earth.

Who is she? I guess you'll find out soon enough.

The original script ending of "Mukhsin".

2008-06-10T18:20:00.001-07:00

dirty cat

64. EXT. ON THE WAY TO MAK SENAH’S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Orked runs and runs. Makcik Senah's house is quite a distance away, so by the time she reaches it, she's panting. She circles the house. All the doors and windows are closed.

Finally she gives up and sits on the front doorsteps, wiping the sweat on her brow and catching her breath. Her gaze falls on a very tall tree nearby. She runs up to it and surveys the height of it. It's very tall.

Remembering what Mukhsin taught her, she climbs it and keeps on climbing until she reaches a branch strong enough to hold her weight.

From up there, she sees the entire neighbourhood. She sees the boys playing koba. Then the girls playing brides and groom. At last she sees, further on, a taxi. She appears excited, quietly wondering if Mukhsin is in that taxi.

Finally a hand comes out from the window and rides the wind.

CUT TO:

Orked looks close to tears, but doesn’t actually cry.
CUT TO BLACK.

65. EXT. ORKED ON HER WAY HOME – CONTINUOUS

Orked walks with a heavy heart, slowly making her way home.

66. EXT. FRONT OF ORKED’S HOUSE – CONTINUOUS

A small pick-up truck is parked by the road in front of Orked’s parents’ house. Some men are carrying a brand new sofa into the house. Orked’s parents stand around the front yard, admiring it. Uncle Sarip (who sang "Ne Me Quitte Pas") is there too.

SARIP
A-very nice. A-very very… nice. (Then to Orked) Oh, how are you, my dears?

MAK INOM
Hey! Hi, baby. Where have you been?

Orked doesn't answer. She looks like she’s in a daze.

Suddenly, from the back of the house, we hear Kak Yam hollering to everyone. Everyone, except Orked, now rushes to the back.

Now we hear everyone hollering Orked’s name. She turns her head in their direction and slowly makes her way there.

67. EXT. BACK OF ORKED’S HOUSE – CONTINUOUS

As Orked approaches the back of the house, the others fall silent and beam at her knowingly.

Abah steps aside to reveal Orked’s cat, Bujang, standing behind him. It looks thinner, dirtier and weaker, but there it has found its way home. The neighbour whose chick was killed by Bujang is squatting down stroking its back.

Seeing this, Orked covers her face. Mak pulls her to her chest. Orked sobs her heart out on it.

FADE TO BLACK.

END CREDITS

An eye opener for screenplay writers.

2008-06-04T06:22:00.001-07:00

Japanese ceramic sculpture

In one of the Tora-san films that I saw recently, the lead character Tora-san befriended a famous clay sculptor.

One night, while they were getting drunk together, the sculptor spoke at some length about how he approached his craft.

It was the best, most liberating piece of advice I had ever heard for screenplay writing.

It was written by the great Yoji Yamada.

"While I knead clay, form is spontaneously born. Thinking about what form to adopt, or what colour to use, makes little sense. I wait until a form appears. But spontaneous forms don't come easily. While wanting to make good ceramics, or waiting for the praise of others, our work is poor. The secret is in digging. Something beautiful is hiding in the clay. It's asking us to dig it out... begging us."

There it was. The hair on my arms stood on end; I kept skipping the dvd back, again and again, to the little soliloquy made by that drunken old scultpor.

Whatever we're doing, be it medical research or aeronautics or sculpting clay or even writing a script for a film, there's one thing we would do well to remember.

And that is, our job is not to invent, but to search. To "dig" until God's truth and beauty reveal themselves.

Subhaanallah.

The original script ending of "Sepet".

2008-06-02T04:16:00.001-07:00

mah and jason

54. Inside father’s car, on the way to the airport.

Mum urges Orked to open the envelope. Orked takes out from the envelope, a letter and a cassette. She slips the cassette into the player and turns it on. Home recording piano solo of ‘Belaian Jiwa’ comes on. Orked is visibly moved by the song. She proceeds to open the letter. The music carries through over the next scene.

55. Same time. Ext. The road. (as per letter)

We hear the music, and over it we hear Jason’s words in his letter to Orked. We see him putting on his helmet and getting on his bike. He begins his journey to Keong’s house. He smiles to himself and looks excited. He can’t wait to get there.

JASON:
My darling Orked. God is answering my prayers. Maggie has decided not to have the baby. She said she won’t destroy her future because of one stupid man. I guess that means me. Orked, I don’t want to talk about her anymore. I want to talk about us. I tried to write a poem in Mandarin about you. I wanted to make you understand how I feel.

As the letter continues, we see Jason make a turn through some back alleys. We see some men in two cars catch sight of him, signal to each other, and start tailing him.

JASON: (continues)
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t. I tried for days. The more I wrote, the more empty my words sounded. At first I felt panic. I couldn’t sleep for many nights. But then, the panic would go away everytime I saw your face, or just heard your voice. I used to write poetry because to me, it was like writing letters to God; to tell someone I couldn’t see, how I felt inside. Then finally, God replied. With a poem more beautiful than anything I had ever written. He gave me you.

We see one car follow Jason into the alley. Realising he’s being followed, Jason speeds towards the end of the alley. The other call pulls up on that side. Jason brakes. We see him flung through the air as the men come out of their cars, whip out their guns and open fire at him.

JASON:
You are my poetry from God, Orked. Let me hear your voice. Please call me. I will be waiting. Just call me, Orked, so I can sleep peacefully again. Your sayang, Jason.

Jason is lying on the ground. His body is bullet-ridden and bloody, but he’s still alive. He is breathing heavily and mutters something unintelligeable under his breath. His eyes just stare at the sky. As we move in closer to his face, we see a tear streaming down the side of his temple.

Jimmy steps out of a car. His head is partly wrapped in bandage. He walks up to Jason with a gun in his hand and puts the nozzle on one of his eyes.

Cut to far end of the alley as some policemen step out of their car just in time to see, from a distance, Jimmy hover over Jason’s body and pull the trigger.

56. Same time. (Continue scene 54) Inside Orked’s father’s car.

Orked puts down the letter, puts her arms around her mother and cries her eyes out. Her mother looks to their father as if asking for his help.

Father is visibly moved by the sincerity of his daughter’s tears.

He speaks loudly so as to be heard above his daughter’s weeping.

ABAHr:
Look, I have a really bad feeling about all this. I don’t know how to put it in any other way, but I don’t like the idea of you going out with a boy involved with gangsters and who made a girl pregnant.

He pauses for a moment to take a deep breath and organise his thoughts. Orked stops sobbing and listens. He continues.

ABAH:
You are my only child, Ked. All I want is for you to be safe and happy. Because I don’t know if I’ll be around long enough to see you through. I know jodoh is in God’s hands, and that as a human being, ultimately I have no idea what’s good and what’s not for you. But... I really, really don’t think this one particular boy is the right one for you. I’m sorry.

Orked starts to sob quietly. Suddenly, mother looks at father as if she has just seen a ghost.

MAK:
What did you just say, sayang?

ABAH:
What? I’m sorry?

MAK:
No, no. Before that.

ABAH:
I don’t think...

MAK:
No. You said... I really, really don’t think this one particular boy...

MAK/ABAH (together):
...is the right one for you.

MAK:
Those were the EXACT words aruah Abah said to me, when I told him that I wanted to marry you, sayang.

Orked suddenly stops sobbing and mutters “Yin-fen” under her breath. Her mother turns around and speaks to Orked as calmly as she can, slowly and deliberately. She wipes the tears off her own face, then off Orked’s face, as she speaks.

MAK:
Listen to me. I have been speaking to Jason many times over the phone these last few days. Yam too. He told us not to tell you. He also said that he wasn’t sure if you loved him because you never really said so. He’s still waiting for your call. My advice would be that if you really love him, this will be your last chance to tell him in a long, long time.

Orked looks at her mother in a way that could melt any heart.

ORKED:
Mak. Please may I borrow your phone...

57. Alley where Jason was shot.

The gangsters have been handcuffed and are being ushered into Black Marias. Paramedics covers Jason’s body and carry it off on a stretcher. We see policemen talking to their walkie-talkies and we hear static and people taking from the other end.

Out of the blue, a mobile phone rings. A policeman picks up Jason’s blood-stained pouch lying on the ground, opens it, and takes out the phone. He answers it.

Cut to a far shot of the policeman talking to the phone.

58. Same time. Ext. Outside Keong’s house.

Keong is sitting in the hot sun, by the drain outside the family’s terrace house. He is waiting for Jason.

He looks across the street and sees the little Chinese boy and the little Malay girl from Scene 1 in a playground, sharing a swing.

Keong looks down at the cast on his arm. He sees Jason’s handwriting on it. Keong bends his arm a little to read it. It says:

“I'm sorry. (signed) Jason.”

59. Day. Int. Living room of jason’s shophouse.

Close-up of Jason’s poetry book. It is open. We hear Jason’s voice start reading from the page.

JASON:
Bless this little heart,
this white soul that has won the kiss of heaven.
He loves the light of the sun,
He loves the sight of his mother’s face.
He has not learnt to hate the dust, and love the gold.
Clasp him to your heart and bless him.
He has come into this land of 100 crossroads.
I know not how he chose you from the crowd,
came to your door, grasped your hand to ask his way.

We slowly pull away from the book as Jason’s voice continues to read. As we go further from the book, we see that there’s no Jason, just his voice.

JASON:
He followed you, laughing and talking, without a doubt
in his heart.
Keep his trust, lead him straight, and bless him.
Lay your hand on his head,
and pray that though the waves beneath him grow
threatening,
yet the breath from above him will fill his sails and
waft him to the haven of peace.

We pull further until we reach Jason’s mother lying on the sofa. She’s sleeping peacefully. We close in on her face as Jason’s voice completes the poem.

JASON:
Forget him not in your hurry,
let him come to your heart and bless him...
Goodnight, mah.

Cut to black. Roll credits.

Spot Quiz!

2008-05-31T02:40:00.001-07:00

Somewhere in the middle of "Mukhsin", the adult Orked and Jason appear out of the blue. Orked was carrying a baby.

Next, you see them teaching the young Orked and her friend Mukhsin how to fly kites.

In your opinion, why did I put this surreal, wholly anachronistic scene in the film?

In fact, this strange scene was already there at script stage. I remember telling some of my Singaporean friends about my intention to write this scene, even while I was working on the script in Bali. Some of them expressed serious doubts as to whether it would work.

And yet, I included it anyway. Why?

There are no right or wrong answers, of course. I'm just interested in what you think.

"Mukhsin" in New York. The fourth review.

2008-05-30T08:38:00.001-07:00

"This beautiful little film explores the fragile, indeterminate love story between two children in rural Malaysia.

Director Yasmin Ahmad’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story feels humid and intimate, echoing its tropical setting.

Orked (Sharifah Aryana), a dreamy, independent ten-year-old, lives with her musician father and lovely, British-educated mother in a house on a grassy plain.

Over the course of a summer, she befriends Mukhsin (Mohd Syafie Naswip), a twelve-year-old boy from a troubled family who’s come to stay with his aunt. They ride bikes and fly kites and make up stories while navigating the nebulous dimensions of their relationship.

Ultimately, it’s unclear how Orked feels about Mukhsin, but to manipulate the relationship between the two young protagonists into a recognizable romantic structure seems ridiculous.

Like a pre-adolescent romance, the film is hazy in tone and satisfyingly ambiguous. Simple actions like glances and sighs reverberate with potential meanings.

Aryana and Naswip are both non-actors, and their interactions are natural and unadulterated.

All of the scenes seem colored by sun or candlelight, and are scored by Malaysian folk songs and Nina Simone ballads that sound like they’re coming from a phonograph.

Incidental cinematographic elements like ambient sound and grainy picture quality add to the film’s anachronistic quality, further imbuing it with a happy nostalgia that’s not forced or cloying.

Ahmad’s passion and sensitivity for her subject matter is evident: Mukhsin seems like a delicate homage to a first love."

- Mary Block

"Mukhsin" in New York. The third review.

2008-05-30T07:48:00.001-07:00

"Nina Simone's music has brought out the best in filmmakers as diverse as Emanuele Crialese and David R. Ellis.

To their fold we can now add Yasmin Ahmad, who makes canny use of Simone's "Ne Me Quitte Pas" in her Berlin prizewinner Mukhsin, a bittersweet and feisty Malaysia-set love story between a young boy and girl.

After her grandmother amusingly instructs her grandfather on how to pronounce Simone and Nat King Cole's names, Orked (Sharifah Aryana Syed Zainal Rashid) joins her parents in a dance to the Simone classic.

Yasmin connects the heritage of the tune (a song by Jacques Brel that was covered in its original French by an African-American multi-genre chanteuse) to the customs of Orked's progressive family, then deepens that connection by cutting to a shot of Mukhsin (Muhammad Syafie bin Naswip) staring at Orked from outside—longing soulfully tied to cross-cultural ecstasy.

Throughout the film, Orked is seen as something of a mini woman warrior, trying to cross boundaries by proving that she is good enough to stand on the same patch of playground with boys her age. She is clearly cut from the same mold as her mother, who pretends to whip the girl while the family of the boy whose schoolbag Orked casually flung out a bus window listens from the adjoining room. In this standout scene, Ahmad calls subtle attention to irony of the town's women gossiping about Orked's mother's ability to speak English, presuming that it means she's shunning her Javanese heritage, while one woman expresses shock over a no doubt common ritual of child discipline.

The film is spiked with similar such episodes of cultural surveillance and reverence, with Ahmad peering the mischievousness of youth throughout with a mixture of lovingness and randiness that brings to mind Ozu's 'Good Morning'. The difference is that her style is snappier, very much synched to the way lives cross, gazes are exchanged and love is neglected.

The story is quaint but its heart is sweet and mellow, just like Simone would have liked it."

- Ed Gonzalez

Sepet burger?

2008-05-29T08:02:00.001-07:00

It was shot in one night, and at three locations.

It was my first ever McD commercial. All I wanted to do was to inject a little humanity into the story.

It may not be the best film I've ever made, but I enjoyed the shoot, and I hope you'll enjoy watching it, if not much, then at least a little bit.

"Mukhsin" in New York. The second review.

2008-05-28T22:10:00.001-07:00

"It's the summer of 1993 in Malaysia, and a feisty 10-year-old girl named Orked and a 12-year-old boy named Mukhsin are experiencing the pangs of first love.

Their story pours forth sweetly in 'Mukhsin,' a charming and unassuming movie directed and co-written by Yasmin Ahmad.

Orked (the director's alter ego) lives with her free-spirited parents and their maid, who's treated like a member of the family. Mukhsin is spending the summer in Orked's village, along with his elder brother and aunt.

The young lovers go kite flying in an open field, and hold hands in the back seat of a VW Beetle. "Promise me you won't cut your hair," Mukhsin pleads. Ah, puppy love - doesn't it just tug at your heart.

But there's a darker side to the story, with suicide and alcoholism rearing their ugly heads. Fortunately, Ahmad - a one-time advertising copywriter - balances the good and the bad.

'Mukhsin' is the final part of the director's trilogy about Orked and her family. I am so taken by 'Mukhsin' that I'm going to hunt down the two previous movies.

In Malay, with English subtitles. Running time: 94 minutes. Not rated (mature themes). At the Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St., through Monday."

- V.A. Musetto

"Mukhsin" in New York. The first review.

2008-05-28T10:09:00.001-07:00

"Malaysian filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad tells deeply personal and intensely humanistic stories based largely on her own experiences.

For her fourth film, 'Mukhsin', she revisits the loving and liberal family of her previous features, continuing her portrait of one woman’s journey from childhood through adolescence and marriage.

It’s summer vacation, and the 10-year-old Orked (Sharifah Aryana Syed Zainal Rashid), a multilingual tomboy more interested in playing soccer than brides-and-grooms, is thrilled when a new boy arrives in the village. The boy, Mukhsin (Muhammad Syafie bin Naswip), may be only two years older, but his troubled home life and rising hormones give him an emotional complexity that Orked and their growing friendship are ill equipped to manage.

Deceptively simple and threaded with gentle humor, 'Mukhsin' paints the turmoil of puppy love on a canvas of family relationships as delightful as it is believable.

With a free-spirited English-speaking mother and a father who helps with housework (“Malays who have forgotten their roots,” grumbles a local busybody), Orked’s family is as likely to arouse envy as it is disapproval. This is exemplified by a pregnant neighbor who is hauling laundry while her philandering husband polishes his motorcycle.

“How nice to be a motorcycle,” she murmurs resignedly, in a moment that perfectly captures the film’s calm acuity and its maker’s empathy for those whose dreams may never come true.

MUKHSIN

Opens on Wednesday in Manhattan."

- JEANNETTE CATSOULIS, Published: May 28, 2008

Some people have absolutely no shame!

2008-05-27T01:17:00.001-07:00

It's out in the papers.

A local producer is making a film about a Chinese boy who falls in love with a Malay girl and he ends up becoming a "muallaf"!

Rings a bell?

"Mukhsin" specially selected for screening in MoMA, New York.

2008-05-26T12:03:00.001-07:00

"Founded in 1929 as an educational institution, The Museum of Modern Art is dedicated to being the foremost museum of modern art in the world.

The Museum of Modern Art manifests this commitment by establishing, preserving, and documenting a permanent collection of the highest order that reflects the vitality, complexity and unfolding patterns of modern and contemporary art.

Central to The Museum of Modern Art’s mission is the encouragement of an ever-deeper understanding and enjoyment of modern and contemporary art by the diverse local, national, and international audiences that it serves."

Starting May 28th, "Mukhsin", along with "Ling yi Ban" from China and "Senkyo" from Japan, will be screened at the museum, as part of a special program called "ContemporAsian".

Only three films were chosen from the whole Asia. Which, to me, is both an honour and a blessing, alhamdulillah.

Here's how they described me and our film. It's quite cute.

"Called the Godmother of the new Malaysian digital cinema, Yasmin Ahmad creates films that draw from experiences close to her own life.

Her Orked trilogy is set in the world of today's most culturally diverse societies—providing ample opportunity for conflicts of color and creed, prejudice and taboo.

Mukhsin, the third film in the trilogy (but the earliest in the story's chronology), portrays the filmmaker's alter ego, Orked, and her best friend, a boy named Mukhsin, as they enter adolescence and their relationship changes character.

Portrayed with deep humanism and a liberating sense of humor, Mukhsin completes the trilogy's multidimensional portrait of a woman from childhood to adolescence to marriage."

Not bad for a film that was described by last year's chairman of the jury at Festival Filem Malaysia as "filem yang tak ada pembaharuan".

What can I say? Allah is great.

"The Tao Of Philosophy" by Alan Watts.

2008-05-23T01:52:00.001-07:00

alan watts' book
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

About 600 years before the birth of Jesus (which was about 1,000 years before the birth of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him), a little Chinese man on a buffalo had made some pretty nifty observations about the relationship between Man and the Universe.

“There was something formless, yet complete and perfect, that existed before the heavens and the earth.”

This man, more commonly known as Lao Tzu, described that force as the eternal creator, and the all-encompassing order, of all things.

His only known writing is a compilation of verses named the Tao Te Ching.

In it, Lao Tzu expressed his philosophy in ways which ultimately got him into trouble with the authorities of the time. (Not surprising, since he advocated that a leader should not go about his business with pomp and circumstance, but rather quietly, humbly, and invisibly, his job being to fulfil the needs of the people, and not the other way around.)

Lao Tzu also observed that the way of the world often worked in two opposing forces – good and evil, light and darkness, full and empty.

This was, in essence, the theory of relativity, of course. But as always, the West took all that’s good from the East and attributed it to one of their own sons, in this case, to Albert Einstein.

But while Einstein’s theories and scientific calculations have often been used as a means to “govern” nature, Lao Tzu advocated a surrendering to the infinitely wiser and truer will of nature.

Western logic versus Oriental mysticism, so to speak. And as if to bridge that gap between the two, here is The Tao of Philosophy, edited transcripts by the late Alan Watts.

“Inability to accept the mystic experience is an intellectual handicap. Lack of awareness of the basic unity of organism and environment is a serious and dangerous hallucination. For in a civilisation equipped with immense technological power, the sense of alienation between man and nature leads to the use of technology in a hostile spirit – to the ‘conquest’ of nature instead of intelligent co-operation with nature.”

Brought up in Christian tradition (his grandfather was a missionary), Alan Watts became a chaplain at Northwestern University, Illinois, when World War II was raging.

Later, dissatisfied with the precepts of his Western education, he turned to the philosophies of Zen and Taoism.

The Tao of Philosophy is a surprisingly easy-to-read stream of thoughts which come from a life-long study of Eastern philosophy by an inspired and articulate Westerner.

One of the things I found most amusing about Alan Watts’ The Tao of Philosophy is the clear, simple way in which he dismissed atheist thinking, along the way damning highly respected textbook thinkers.

“It has become fashionable, and it is nothing more than a fashion, to believe that the universe is dumb and stupid, and that intelligence, values, love and fine feelings reside only within the bag of the human epidermis, and beyond that it is simply a kind of chaotic, stupid interaction of blind forces.

“For example, courtesy of Dr Freud, we have the idea that biological life is based something called ‘libido’, which was a very loaded word.

“This blind, ruthless, uncomprehending lust is seen as the foundation of the human consciousness, and to thinkers of the nineteenth century like Hegel, Darwin, and T.H. Huxley, there was similarly the notion that the root of being is an energy, and this energy is blind. This energy is just energy and totally stupid, and our intelligence is an unfortunate accident.

“By some weird freak of evolution we came to be these feeling and rational beings, at least more or less rational, but all this is a ghastly mistake because we are here in a universe that has nothing in common with us.

“It does not share our feelings, has no real interest in us, and we are just a sort of cosmic fluke. Therefore, the only hope for mankind is to beat this irrational universe into submission, to conquer it and to master it.

“Of course all this is perfectly idiotic. If you think that the idea of the universe has been the creation of a benevolent old gentleman, you soon realise He is not so benevolent after all, and He takes an attitude of ‘this is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you.’

“You can have that idea on the one hand, and, if that becomes uncomfortable, you can exchange it for its opposite idea that the ultimate reality does not have any intelligence at all, and at least that would get rid of the old bogey in the sky in exchange for a picture of the world that is completely stupid.

“Of course, these ideas do not really make any sense because you do not find an intelligent organism living in an unintelligent environment.”

Because of such energetic bursts of witty, cogent, even humorous arguments, it took me less than two days to finish The Tao of Philosophy.

Do read it, and once you’re done, you might like to place your comments here and tell me if it changed your view of yourself and the world, even if only slightly, as it did me.

Dang! I really shouldn't find this funny, but I do!

2008-05-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

Forgive me if this is starting to bore you, but...

2008-05-18T01:52:00.001-07:00

... they just announced it at www.clioawards.com

"Tan Hong Ming In Love" just won a Gold Clio, at the 2008 Clio Awards Festival.

"For nearly five decades, the Clio Awards has been committed to the mission of celebrating and rewarding creative excellence in advertising and design, honoring one of the most influential forms of communication and its impact on modern culture.

The Clio Awards, part of Nielsen Business Media, receives more than 19,000 entries from over 65 countries, and are judged by world-class juries made up of more than 100 top creatives from 65 countries.

The culmination of the competition takes place each May at the annual Clio Awards Festival, in Miami’s South Beach, attended by an international who’s who of advertising and digital marketing.

Fewer than 10% of submissions survive the first round to make the Clio Shortlist, from which juries re-evaluate the work to determine Gold, Silver and Bronze statue winners.

Less than 3% of all entries receive a statue, and less than 1% receive the coveted Gold Clio."

All praise goes to God.

My vote for the most charming youtube video ever!

2008-05-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

"Tan Hong Ming In Love" wins a Nomination Pencil in Great Britain.

2008-05-16T10:52:00.001-07:00

pencils
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

This is it.

This is THE biggest of the biggies. The Mother lode. The real McCoy. The big Kahuna. Nothing surpasses this in the advertising world.

Ask any advertising person anywhere, and they'll tell you that no award festival in the world is tougher than this one.

It's called the British Design and Art Direction awards, more commonly, and fearfully, known as D&AD.

For the longest of time, it was an award show held exclusively for British advertising, and was notoriously harsh in its judging. (After all, Britain is one of the top two biggest Lions winning country at Cannes in history!)

In 1988, they opened their doors to the rest of the world. But still, British work was largely judged separately.

No Malaysian television commercial has ever won a Black Pencil (gold award) there. Heck, not even a Yellow Pencil (silver award).

In 2003, one Malaysian commercial won a Nomination Pencil (sometimes called a Silver Nomination and is sort of like a bronze award). But that was in the Non-English Language Television and Cinema Advertising section, not competing with the best of British or any work in English.

This time, it's free for all. The rest of the world competes with the best of British and America, regardless of language.

And little Hong Ming and Ummi did what they did. They won the highest award ever bestowed upon a Malaysian television commercial, at the toughest advertising award show in the world.

So what do we say? Yes, that's right. Alhamdulillah.

The Video

2008-05-16T02:08:00.000-07:00

Another brilliant commercial from Japan, which won big awards two or three years ago.

2008-05-11T02:44:00.000-07:00

My two favourite commercials at the Media Spikes were both from Japan.

2008-05-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

This time, the Petronas campaign (Tan Hong Ming/Race/Karate) won, as a whole.

2008-05-09T08:02:00.001-07:00

one show pencil
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

It was announced last night.

At the 2008 One Show awards ceremony (the most respected in America), the Petronas campaign, comprising the three commercials listed above, was given the Silver Pencil for the Best Public Service Television Campaign in the world.

No Gold or Bronzes were given.

In other words, it was the only public service TV campaign in the world to receive a prize that night.

Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah.

"Tan Hong Ming" wins 2 Gold Awards in New York.

2008-05-04T02:48:00.001-07:00

andy's head
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

"The international ANDY Awards were established in 1964 by the Advertising Club of New York.

The goal of the competition is to honor creativity in advertising throughout the world, recognize the contributions of individuals and companies who create the work and encourage raising the standards of craftsmanship in the industry.

Judged by a jury comprised of internationally renowned creative directors, awards are given to both single and campaign executions, distinguished by product, service or technique category. The ANDY's began as a New York print only show that has evolved into an international show covering print, radio, television, out-of-home, direct mail, video/cinema, interactive and other media." (http://www.andyawards.com/about/index.php)

"Tan Hong Ming" won a Gold Andy for Film Direction and another Gold for Public Service Advertising. "Race" won a Bronze.

And no matter how much Ila condemns me, I cannot help but give praise and thanks to my beloved Creator.

Alhamdulillah.

Trailer of the music video which Yuhang and I shot.

2008-05-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

On the 24th of April, 2008, about 100 volunteers gathered at KLPAC and made a video about being One People in a nation of many.

The song, "Here In My Home", was written by Pete Teo. The music video is officially described as having been directed by Ho Yuhang and Yasmin Ahmad, but in truth, the celebrities who had come forth to offer their time and energy for free, pretty much directed themselves.

Yuhang and I knew, at the very onset of the project, that we did not want fancy camera moves or graphics that would have brought attention upon themselves. (Music videos have a habit of doing just that!)

We figured that when you have charismatic people like Afdlin Shauki, Harith Iskandar, Awie, Jason Lo, Reshmonu, Sheby Singh, Ning Baizura, the "Sepet" couple (Ng Choo Seong and Sharifah Amani), Maya Karin, Tony Fernandes, Reshmonu, Jaclyn Victor, Ida Nerina, Amber Chia, Atilia, Nikki and all those other wonderful personalities singing and dancing to a beautiful song, the best thing to do was to keep everything constant. A mostly un-moving camera, lots of space for people to run around in, and a flat coloured location.

So in the end, what you'll see are Stars in their element.

We'll be releasing the video in the next week or so, inshaallah. And when it's out, spread it around, O good people of Malaysia!

Someone in Europe likes our films. Alhamdulillah.

2008-04-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

They've agreed to sell the rights for this achingly beautiful song to us for "Talentime". Alhamdulillah!

2008-04-28T07:16:00.000-07:00

The latest developments in the pre-production of "Talentime":

One, my young Singaporean actor has pulled out, due to some family problems. He will be replaced by Mohd. Syafie Naswip of "Mukhsin" fame. (Poor Syafie had been pleading with me to put him in another film, so he was well pleased when I told him he was on.)

Secondly, this song entitled "O Re Piya", which I've so badly wanted for "Talentime", is now available to us. Sung by Rahat (nephew of the late Nusrat) Fateh Ali Khan in a way that makes the hair on my arms stand every time, the lyrics of this haunting piece sounds like it was just written for one crucial scene in "Talentime".

"Feels like I've been walking barefoot on burning embers
Feels like I've been growing up among total strangers
O beloved, take me away to your destiny
This blind, narrow-minded world is my enemy"

Sigh. Heartbreaking...

Lunch with the Stars!

2008-04-27T06:40:00.001-07:00

tan hong ming, ummi, and me
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

This afternoon, nine months after shooting that Petronas commercial with Tan Hong Ming and his objet d'amour, Ummi Qazrina, I took the little sweethearts to lunch.

How quickly kids grow!

To date, the commercial "Tan Hong Ming In Love" has picked up a total of 10 international accolades, nine in the Asia-Pacific region, and one in the United Kingdom.

And it has already made it to the finals at two international advertising award shows in the United States. Of course I don't know if it will win anything there, but you know what? Even as things stand right now, my cup runneth over.

"Look what God can do!"

.

What the Media Spikes thought of Tan Hong Ming.

2008-04-23T03:14:00.001-07:00

Tan Hong Ming & Ummi Qazrina
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

Fifteen judges from the United States, Europe, and Asia were faced with hundreds of TV commercial entries from the Asia-Pacific region.

In the final rounds, only 38 commercials from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia had survived.

Of the 38, 20 remained as Finalists, 8 were given Bronze Spikes, and 10 got Silver Spikes. (At that stage, the Tan Hong Ming campaign had already received 3 Bronzes and 3 Silvers.)

Now the competition was heating up. Only one Gold Spike winner was to be chosen from the Silver Spike recipients, and that commercial would be declared THE best one in the region for 2007/2008.

After a secret ballot, Jeff Goodby, the Chairman of the Jury, declared that a far second was a brilliant commercial from Japan entitled "The Non-Blinking Woman" from Dentsu Tokyo.

And the Gold Spike winner of the year was a little commercial entitled "Tan Hong Ming In Love".

Alhamdulillah.

Love is...

2008-04-20T11:40:00.001-07:00

...my baby & me.

What on God's earth was he talking about?

2008-04-11T02:34:00.001-07:00

issa

He was Kobayashi Issa. Born in 1763 and died in 1828, he is widely regarded as one of the four great haiku masters of Japan.

He wrote chiefly about the world around him. Mountains, snow, spring, insects, animals, leaves, rivers, ponds.

And yet, in these brief poems of limited syllable count, he captured moments of love, compassion, inspiration, and even epiphany.

In my quiet moments of despair and disillusionment, apart from turning to the Noble Koran, I often read Issa's haiku. In them, I find a rare sort of calmness, amid the storms of my daily life.

Below are 23 of my favourite haiku. Can anyone here tell me what I see in them, and more importantly, why they are a source of calm and peace for me?

"Don't worry, spiders,
I keep house
casually."

"I'm going out,
flies, so relax,
make love."

"A huge frog and I,
staring at each other,
neither of us moves."

"Last time, I think,
I'll brush the flies
from my father's face."

"A cuckoo sings
to me, to the mountain,
to me, to the mountain."

"Asked how old he was,
the boy in the new kimono
stretched out all five fingers."

"Having slept, the cat gets up,
yawns, goes out
to make love."

"Hey, sparrow!
out of the way,
Horse is coming."

"These sea slugs,
they just don't seem
Japanese."

"Even with insects--
some can sing,
some can't."

"Children imitating cormorants
are even more wonderful
than cormorants."

"Not very anxious
to bloom,
my plum tree."

"That wren--
looking here, looking there.
You lose something?"

"The distant mountains
are reflected in the eye
of the dragonfly."

"A world of dew,
and within every dewdrop
a world of struggle."

"The dog walks by
with a hat...
fallen leaf."

"O flea! Whatever you do,
don't jump;
that way is the river."

"O owl!
Make some other face.
This is spring rain."

"That gorgeous kite
rising
from the beggar's shack."

"I'm going to roll over,
so please move,
cricket."

"A firefly
creeping up my sleeve.
OK, I'm a blade of grass."

"Singing high ---
A cricket on a log
floating down the river."

One of the songs to be featured in "Talentime".

2008-04-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

It was a hit in Korea.

When I first heard it, the hair on the back of my neck stood right on end. I knew then that this would be the perfect song to follow a very painful scene towards the end of the story, and immediately gave Pete Teo a call at a few minutes past midnight.

He said yes instantly. Thank God!

Another song that will be featured in "Talentime" is a beautiful mood piece called "Just Hold On", written by Azhar, a Malaysian in Melbourne who has been winning awards in Australia for his music.

And of course, my father's "Kasih Tak Kembali" will somehow find its way somewhere in the film.

I'm terribly excited about it all at the moment, because the plot has taken several unexpected twists as I'm writing it. It's almost as if it has a life of its own now.

Actors that have said "Yes" so far are Mahesh Jugal Kishor, the three Sharifahs (Amani, Aleysha and Aryana), Hafiz (a brilliant young actor I saw perform on stage in Singapore), Azean Irdawaty, Harith Iskandar, Harith's mum (an English lady in her 80's possessing of a deadly deadpan wry sense of humour), Mislina Mustaffa, Tan Mei Ling, Adibah Noor, Zahim al-Bakri, and Noor Khiriah.

And of course about seven to eight songs which might later be compiled into a soundtrack album.

Inshaallah, inshaallah, inshaallah.

Anyways... here are the lyrics to this song:

"So long, fare thee well
The dancer and the dancing days have taken leave and fell
So turn down this bed of stone
Quench me with the deadly nightshade from the rose that you belong
The long December rain is falling now
Running down on streets to nowhere
Music is my life - you're my sweetest nightingale
But I can't hear it here no more
And I go...
Hush now, don't shake or break
Words have fallen silent like soldiers to the grave
No matter what they do or say
Lay me on the sleepy meadows by the tracks upon your face"

[Words & Music by Pete Teo. All rights reserved 2007]

"Tan Hong Ming In Love" receives the highest award for public service commercials at the Asia-Pacific Advertising Festival.

2008-03-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

The two biggest and most prestigious advertising award shows in the whole of Asia are ADFEST and the Media Spikes.

ADFEST was held in Pattaya last week, and ended on Saturday night, when the results of this notoriously tough competition were announced.

As always, thousands of entries were received from all over Asia -- mainly Japan, Thailand, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.

This time around, the highest award for the Social Engagement (public service) category was given to a Malaysian commercial for Petronas. It received the Silver Lotus, with no golds given.

It was also the only TV commercial from Malaysia to have won any award at the festival this year.

And yes, it's the simple little commercial that you see here. Alhamdulillah!

So now they've met.

2008-03-26T11:21:00.001-07:00

Photo by Wira Budiman
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

The main players of "Talentime" had dinner with me last night.

It was the first time they had ever met, and it was like at first sight.

Scriptwise, I've just passed a scene that was very painful to write: A Hindu open cremation.

As I see it in my head, "Talentime" is a story full of joy and pain, hope and despair, a host of beautifully-written songs, and rich, rich characters. May I be guided to write the screenplay well.

Ameen.

"Mukhsin" in Melbourne.

2008-03-24T21:26:00.001-07:00

orked's ball
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

At 7:30pm this Friday 28th, there'll be a screening at Monash Caulfield campus.

The theatre seats only 130, and the audience will comprise mainly students from the university. There'll be a Q&A post viewing.

I've never been to Melbourne, and I've heard only good things about it, so I'm dead excited!

I'm hoping that our good friend Faiz will turn up. I miss him so.

"Rabun" screening. (Not again!)

2008-03-24T01:46:00.001-07:00

The crucial scene LPF butchered.
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

At 8:30pm on Thursday, April the 3rd, 2008, inshaallah ten people will be viewing the uncensored version of my very first film, "Rabun".

"Rabun", originally a made-for-Cerekarama movie, also happened to be the first ever Malaysian film to be nominated for the Best Film award at the Torino International Film Festival in Italy. (Out of 650 films submitted from around the world, only 13 were selected to compete.)

This 88-minute film, shot in six days, is the story of an eccentric and extremely affectionate old couple who over-estimated the kindness of kampung folks.

The local censorship board (Lembaga Penapisan Filem) made severe cuts to the film, amounting to about four minutes of footage, including that now famous and most crucial bathing scene. And at that year's Anugerah Skrin, "Rabun" was not nominated for any category whatsoever.

Despite all that, Affandi Jamaludin, the editor of all our films and most of our Petronas commercials, has cited "Rabun" as his favourite among all the films that we have made so far.

I hope you'll enjoy it.

Today in the South China Morning Post.

2008-03-23T07:24:00.001-07:00

south china morning post
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

It's Hong Kong's most widely-circulated English language newspaper.

An Australian friend working in Hong Kong sms'd me about it, then proceeded to scan the article and email it to me this morning.

You can only read it by clicking on the picture (this will take you to flickr) and then downloading it.

Thanks for the heads up, Andrew.

Anyway, before Andrew sent the article to me, I asked him if it had described me as strangely beautiful and brilliant. Andrew's reply was, "No. I'm afraid the piece was largely non-fiction."

Bastard.

Lightning in Subang.

2008-03-18T01:45:00.001-07:00

bolt
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

On the flight back from Paris, I read in a newspaper that Subang is now officially the most lightning-struck area in the world.

An average of 572 lightnings strike here each year.

I am now at home in Subang, typing this, while a loud, raging thunderstorm is crashing just outside my window.

God is awesome. Once again, the Tao takes my breath away.

"A lightning flash:
between the forest trees
I have seen water."
- Shiki Masaoka

It's a lot like epiphany, isn't it?

March 12th screening of "Muallaf".

2008-03-12T04:03:00.001-07:00

march12muallaf
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

Last night was a hoot!

We met some nice new folks, and post-viewing discussion was livelier than it had been in a while.

Thirty-six JCo doughnuts disappeared quick as a flash.

Ted turned up after the screening (it's always a delight to have her around), just in time for a bonus screening of my new 20-minute documentary on east coast poverty.

Hopefully, the next gathering will be centred around actor rehearsals for "Talentime". Now, that'd be fun!

"Muallaf" private screening. Only 13 seats available.

2008-03-10T01:25:00.001-07:00

brian the beautiful 5
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

I've screened this to a group of Indonesians and they said it was our strongest work so far.

Most Singaporeans I showed it to felt the same.

Malaysians think otherwise. One film reviewer whose opinions matter to me said it was my weakest.

Why such polar extremes in response to "Muallaf"? Find out for yourself tomorrow night, Tuesday the 11th of March, at 8:15pm.

I'll be testing the film against seven pre-booked people, including one journalist, so there are only 13 places available.

We need to know your name and email/mobile number before you can reserve a place. Admission, as always, is free.

Screening of my own personal favourite television commercials, with Q&A session after. Venue: HELP Institute. Time: 8:15pm.

2008-03-04T03:48:00.001-08:00

thessaloniki
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

I made a mistake about going to Jakarta on Friday in the previous thread. I just realised I'm going on Saturday.

On Friday at HELP Institute, they'll be screening a compilation of television commercials which I directed through the years.

I've shortlisted them to about 12 commercials, and the screening will last about 1/2 an hour, starting 8:15pm. I will also be there to answer questions afterwards, inshaallah.

Admission is free, so please come if you can.

Second Tora-san private screening. This week perhaps?

2008-03-02T19:05:00.001-08:00

tora-san
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

It's called "Tora-san's Love Call".

And although it was the 8th installment in the enormously entertaining and moving Tora-san series by Yoji Yamada, it was the first I ever saw.

I fell in love with it immediately.

At once hilarious and deeply moving, the world of Tora-san and his family and friends swam around my head and my heart for weeks after.

I propose we screen it this week. Any suggestions for day and date? Please bear in mind that I have to fly to Jakarta on Friday night.

Over to you, my handsome warrior Wira.

Oh, and by the way, I ordered ten more Tora-san dvd's and they just arrived today. That makes it a total of 16 Tora-san films in my collection! Alhamdulillah.

Some 3 out of 4 star ratings for "Muksin", by some French press and magazines.

2008-02-27T11:28:00.001-08:00

3 star
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

No, that was not a typo error. In France, they do spell "Mukhsin" without the 'h'.

In any case, here are some ratings which I can be truly happy and grateful about, along with brief excerpts from the respective reviews.

Thank you, God.

CAHIERS DU CINEMA (review by Axel Zeppenfeld) - 3 out of 4 stars. "The clever use of music, along with the magnificent performance of the young actor who played Muksin, contribute to the rare joyousness expressed in the film."

POSITIVE (review by Hubert Niogret) - 3 out of 4 stars. "Well composed, with precision mise en scene, a story told without condescendence or indulgence."

OUEST FRANCE (review by the editors) - 3 out of 4 stars. "A chronical that came out of the blue, which went beyond the usual postcard exoticism of its country of origin. A film different, by virtue of its tenderness and sincerity."

LE MONDE (review by Jacques Mandelbaum) - 3 out of 4 stars. "While brushing a tableau of morals of her social environment, Yasmin Ahmad paints a story of first love with an elegance that does not avoid the languid, yet offering also moments of grace."

TELECINEOBS (review by Xavier Leherpeur) - 3 out of 4 stars. "An account of a past that was carefree and of the emergence of a romance, in which the director presents a picture of her country and its contradictions. A success."

MCINEMA.COM (review by Olivier Pelisson) - 3 out of 4 stars. "An ode to life. With its cleverly designed soundtrack and mise en scene, Mukhsin is a vision fulfilled. Sheer charm."

The Crippled Butterfly.

2008-02-27T01:02:00.001-08:00

the crippled butterfly
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

Sometime last week, my friend Hamzah sent me an anecdote which made me ponder about the state of our beloved country, and more specifically, the state of the Malays.

It is a simple story about struggle, and the important role it plays in shaping us as people. It moved me deeply. I hope it touches you in some way too.

"A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day, a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.

Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If nature allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been.

And we could never fly."

Certainly, we all need a helping hand at one point or another in our lives. And the strong must always be mindful of the weak.

But I believe the better way would be to lead by example and teach people how to struggle; not deprive them of it.

Do they call our film "Mook-sang" over there?

2008-02-25T09:56:00.001-08:00

Le Map
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

The second last comment in the thread below entitled "Mukhsin review in Le Monde", was posted by someone called Aniza. It reads like this:

"I was in a small town called Nancy in the east of France two weeks ago. Saw 'Mukhsin' poster on the wall of one of the 'd'art et essai' cinemas. (Took photo, but am not sure how to post it here).
Until last week, I observed that 'Mukhsin' was screened in 5 different cinema halls in Paris. It's a beautiful achievement."

The fact is, "Mukhsin" has been playing in 20 theatres around France since the 2nd of February. It's a first in the history (or should I say l'histoire) of Malaysian cinema.

In the words of Ms Jennifer Hudson at the Oscars last year, "Look what God can do!"

Lashings of tasty goodies, this evening at the screening of "Tora-san, Our Beloved Tramp".

2008-02-20T12:09:00.001-08:00

Glistening, soft, sweet, juicy, lickable in parts, biteable all over, and frightfully addictive.

But enough about my body, let's talk about what you can actually eat at tonight's screening.

There'll be the world's best doughnuts from JCo, and the world's best curry puffs from Old Chang Kee.

And not to mention a viewing of my favourite film of all time!

An article about my crazy parents, in Berita Harian.

2008-02-19T09:42:00.001-08:00

mother and father, february 2008
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

BAIT lagu berirama keroncong ini masih terdengar-dengar ketika meninggalkan pekarangan kediaman Inom Yon (Mak Inom), 74, dan suami tercinta, Ahmad Hashim, 75, atau lebih senang dipanggil Pak Atan.

Seketika, diri turut dibuai kelunakan suara Mak Inom mendendangkan setiap bait sambil sesekali menari di samping Pak Atan yang asyik mengalunkan irama daripada keyboard.

Suasana petang yang hangat bertukar indah dan syahdu melihat keakraban kasih sayang antara keduanya.

Sememangnya Pak Atan dan Mak Inom sentiasa dilamun cinta biarpun usia masing-masing menginjak senja. Bergelar datuk dan nenek kepada lima cucu, cinta antara keduanya tetap mencambahkan bunga kasih yang terus berkembang segar hingga kini.

Kemesraan pasangan ini bukan khayalan pengarah filem tersohor, Yasmin Ahmad semata-mata seperti yang dipaparkan dalam filem arahannya, "Rabun". Inilah keindahan sebenar yang ingin dikongsi anak sulung mereka itu bersama penonton.

Walau ada yang menjuihkan bibir, hakikat kehidupan mereka yang sentiasa mesra bagaikan teruna dara baru berjumpa tidak dapat dinafikan. Segala-galanya jelas terpapar pada wajah Mak Inom dan Pak Atan, melalui gerak geri dan panggilan mesra - ‘sayang’ dan ‘darling’ yang sering meniti di bibir.

“Beginilah kami selalunya. Lepas sama-sama memasak, uncle main keyboard, auntie pula nyanyi. Ini bukan mengada-ngada. Kemesraan ini lahir spontan daripada hati sejak awal pernikahan lagi. Mungkin bagi kebanyakan orang, kemanisan alam pengantin baru hanya sementara, tetapi kami tetap meneruskannya sehingga kini seperti mandi berdua, berjalan sambil berpegang tangan mahupun ketika tidur juga,” kata Mak Inom.

Mengakui awalnya berkahwin bukan atas dasar cinta, Mak Inom dan Pak Atan yang masing-masing baru putus tunang, akhirnya bersetuju disatukan selepas berkenalan tiga bulan kerana kasihankan nasib masing-masing.

Berpegang kepada kata-kata Hamka, cinta yang berputik daripada belas kasihan lebih berkekalan daripada cinta biasa, Mak Inom tidak ragu-ragu menerima lamaran Pak Atan. Tambahan pula perwatakan Pak Atan yang sempurna pada matanya sudah cukup membuatkan Mak Inom yang baru menamatkan pengajian selama dua tahun di Kirby, Liverpool tertawan pada guru muzik itu.

“Bagi saya ketika itu cinta tidak bermakna. Uncle sering merendahkan diri, lembut apabila berkata-kata, tidak banyak cakap dan sering memberi nasihat untuk mententeramkan perasaan saya. Dia juga pandai mengambil hati ayah yang juga menyukainya. Itu yang penting, restu ibu bapa,” katanya.

Pak Atan pula cukup tertarik dengan layanan diberikan Mak Inom. Setiap kali bertandang, dirinya dijamu dengan masakan Mak Inom yang memang handal memasak. Bagi Pak Atan, itulah kecantikan sebenar yang dicarinya selama ini.

“Kecantikan itu lahir dari hati yang suci. Kecantikan fizikal yang sering diagungkan itu tidak kekal dan jika itulah cinta, ia akan pudar bersamanya. Itulah sebabnya kemesraan hanya dikecapi ketika baru berkahwin. Selepas dua atau tiga tahun, lenyap. Suami jalan di depan, isteri di belakang. Apa salahnya berjalan berpegang tangan seperti masa bercinta dulu?

“Saya tidak kisah apa orang nak kata mengenai kemesraan yang kami tunjukkan. Ini isteri saya, suka hati sayalah nak pegang tangan dia atau nak panggil apa. Jangan terkejut kami tetap mandi berdua sehingga kini walaupun ketika berada di rumah saudara mara. Mereka pun tahu dan faham,” katanya.

Sedangkan lidah lagi tergigit, pasangan ini tidak menafikan mahligai yang dibina sesekali tetap dilanda badai terutama di awal perkahwinan. Bagaimanapun, sikap tolak ansur dan tidak berdendam membuatkan rumah tangga dibina kekal bahagia.

“Kalau bertengkar, kami pergi ke tepi laut supaya anak-anak di rumah tidak dengar. Kami luahkan apa yang tidak puas hati. Bila reda, baru balik. Anak anak boleh tahu kami bergaduh hanya kerana saya tidak peluk bahu isteri ketika menonton televisyen. Mereka akan kata, mak tak kawan ayah ya?,” kata Pak Atan.

Mak Inom yang kesal dengan peningkatan perceraian di kalangan pasangan hari ini, berkata sikap bertolak ansur dan memahami pasangan penting selepas berkahwin. Lumrah masa bercinta memang semua indah, tetapi bila tinggal sebumbung, baru tahu buruk baik masing-masing.

“Masa baru berkahwin memang susah sesuaikan diri. Auntie selalu merajuk terutama masa mengandung anak sulung kerana uncle sibuk bermain badminton setiap petang. Auntie luahkan perasaan benci padanya, tetapi jawapannya, tidak ada perkataan benci dalam kamus hidupnya, membuatkan auntie terdiam. Auntie sedar, kita perlu berkorban sedikit dengan menerima seadanya pasangan kita sama ada suka atau tidak kerana itulah dirinya,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, isteri perlu bijak memenangi hati suami terutama dari segi makan minumnya selain menghormatinya sebagai ketua keluarga walaupun isteri berkenaan berpangkat lebih tinggi daripada suami.

“Jika isteri tidak kisah, tidak mustahil apabila ada wanita lain yang menunjukkan kasih sayang padanya, suami akan jatuh cinta dengan wanita itu. Jangan bersikap mementingkan diri termasuk dalam bab duit. Bila suami susah, kita bantu. Jangan ada konsep duit dia, duit kita tapi duit kita, duit kita. Ini tidak betul. Menjaga kebersihan diri juga penting. Janganlah bau kencing ada dibiarkan sampai suami balik ke rumah,” katanya.

Pak Atan turut bersetuju, seorang suami inginkan wanita yang bijak menjaga kebajikan suami. Bagaimanapun, katanya suami juga perlu mengikis ego untuk mengakui kesilapan yang dilakukan pada isteri kerana isteri hanya ingin mendengar suami mengatakan ‘maaf’. Itu sudah cukup melembutkan hatinya.

Dalam hubungan ini, katanya, suami harus banyak bersabar berdepan kerenah isteri, begitu juga sebaliknya.

“Pandailah ambil hati isteri. Isteri mungkin penat selepas seharian bekerja ditambah dengan kerja rumah. Apa salahnya pada sebelah malam, sebelum tidur, suami urut badan atau kaki isteri. Seorang suami yang mengurut isterinya, akan mengalir dosa-dosa yang ada padanya melalui celah jarinya itu.

“Bantu isteri di dapur juga boleh mengeratkan hubungan. Gurau senda antara suami isteri menambah seri. Mungkin orang lain tak buat macam uncle buat. Bila balik rumah, uncle panggil auntie dengan panggilan uhu…uhu…, itu tanda uncle balik. Bila dengar suara uncle itu, auntie pun sembunyi di dapur, macam main sorok-sorok,” katanya.

Memang bertuah jika semua isteri seperti Mak Inom dan semua suami seperti Pak Atan. Sayangnya kebanyakan orang terlalu ego untuk menzahirkan kasih sayang terhadap pasangan khususnya si suami. Entah mengapa, perasaan sayang dan mengambil berat hanya terhad semasa bercinta. Kononnya bukan budaya kita menunjuk-nunjuk depan orang. Apa salahnya budaya yang baik jadi ikutan?

Lihat saja orang Barat, walaupun isterinya itu tidak secantik mana atau gemuk gedempol sekalipun, masih tetap berjalan berpegangan tangan atau memeluk pinggang isterinya. Inilah yang dikatakan cinta sejati, tidak pernah berubah walaupun dimamah usia.

Prizes of the International Jury, Generations category, 58th Berlin International Film Festival.

2008-02-16T15:42:00.001-08:00

Photo courtesy of kean wong

Feb 16, 2008:

Berlinale 2008 Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk Awards in Generation Kplus

The members of the International Jury:

Yasmin Ahmad
Anna Justice
Omri Levy
Antonia Ringbom

gave the following awards:

The Deutsche Kinderhilfswerk Grand Prix for the Best Feature Film:
"TOUS A L'OUEST! Une aventure de Lucky Luke" by Olivier Jean-Marie (France)

Jury Citation:
"A rollercoaster ride of laughs and adventures, delivered with great wit, genius, and humor. A film full of inventive visual gags combined with an intelligent use of music, mixing historical and modern life elements. A celebration of the joy of cinema."

The Special Mention:
"Mutum" by Sandra Kogut (Brazil/France)

Jury Citation:
"A journey into a young boy's life that leads you gently through a world infused with love and rejection, confusion and heartbreak. Through a curious mix of dreamy, open-ended events, it paints a picture of remote Brazil with bursts of poetry and humanity."

The Deutsche Kinderhilfswerk Special Prize for the Best Short Film:
"My Uncle Loves The Colour Yellow" by Mats Olof Olsson (Sweden)

Jury Citation:
"Lasting merely 9 minutes, this film leads us through a whole range of deep human emotions. An homage to all that is good in people, reminding us to be careful with the fragility surrounding us. A moving story told with simple, masterly cinematic strokes."

The Special Mention:
"POST!" by Christian Asmussen and Matthias Bruhn (Germany)

Jury Citation:
"A joyful film with inventive visual solutions, crazy anarchistic humor and a warm message about one man's ability to make a whole community happy."

The 58th Berlinale, 2008.

2008-02-09T22:32:00.001-08:00

good to be back
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

It's been exactly a year since I was sniffing bouquets on stage at the 57th Berlinale.

I miss having Yana and my sister here with me, but my husband's sweet company more than makes up for it.

Later this morning, I'll be watching the 5th film in the competition.

It's dead in the middle of winter here. Berlin isn't quite as white as it was last year. Global warming, I suppose. But this means it isn't as cold as it was before, and for this I'm grateful.

I'm told the Berlinale audience attendance numbers have risen considerably. A remarkable achievement, given that they were already the world's most attended film festival to begin with!

It's a different feeling, coming to the Berlinale as a member of the jury, with two Berlinale prizes already in your bag. You're a lot calmer. I smile inside when I come across directors whose films are in competition here. Bright, eager, hopeful faces thinly disguise the nervousness inside. I know exactly how they feel, and my heart reaches out to them.

The films selected are decent at worst and miraculous at best. And the competition is tough. Which is as it should be. There's nothing I like better than to watch a film that is a genuine, heartfelt expression of its maker's feelings about his world, his life.

No politicking here. No prejudices. No one wants to get you because you made a film about a Chinese boy who loved a Malay girl, or a Muslim cleric who refused to be cruel to a three-legged dog.

Here, a good film is cause for celebration. All is well. Praise the good Lord.

"Mukhsin" review in Le Monde.

2008-02-05T08:33:00.001-08:00

Le Monde front page
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

Lorenzo Codelli, a film critic and one of the curators for Venice Film Festival whom I had the pleasure of meeting at last year's Golden Horse festival, sent me what he described as "a very nice review of your movie".

You can read it below, but first, can someone translate it for me, please? My French is rusty amd mostly limited to everyday statements like "I'd like a packet of Gitanes filters please", "This bouillabaise dish is too much for one woman", "You're so tall that if you fell over you'd be halfway home", and of course the ever important, "Do you like to do it doggy-doggy?"

-------

"L'éducation sentimentale d'une adolescente en Malaisie.
(Un troisième long métrage critique envers une société menacée par le conformisme moral.)

E n dépit de l'uniformisation des formes qui affecte, avec le monde, la production cinématographique, il est heureux de constater que des mouvements esthétiques singuliers, fortement ancrés dans leurs territoires respectifs sans renoncer pour autant à une ambition universaliste, ne cessent d'éclore dans le monde. L'Argentine et la Roumanie en sont deux exemples récents.

Cette effervescence touche à présent l'Asie du Sud-Est, d'où viennent notamment le Thaïlandais Apichatpong Weerasethakul ou le Singapourien Eric Khoo. C'est aujourd'hui au tour de la Malaisie de se signaler, avec une poignée de jeunes cinéastes indépendants qui imposent leur présence dans les festivals internationaux.

Pionnière et aînée de ce groupe (elle est née en 1958), la réalisatrice Yasmin Ahmad livre avec Muksin, réalisé en 2006, son troisième long métrage. C'est un joli roman d'éducation, d'une subtile et sensible amertume, qui évoque le premier amour estival d'une jeune adolescente et fait en arrière-plan la critique circonstanciée d'une société menacée par le conformisme moral et la crispation réactionnaire.

Elevée par des parents occidentalisés, couple égalitaire pratiquant un islam modéré, la jeune Orked est éduquée comme les garçons de son entourage, dont elle partage les jeux. C'est d'ailleurs sur un terrain improvisé de football qu'elle rencontre Muksin, beau brun qui devient illico son compagnon d'esprit et de coeur.

Tout en brossant sans pesanteur le tableau des moeurs de la société environnante (le voisin polygame qui méprise la mère de ses enfants, l'opprobre social qui frappe la mère de Muksin, la perdition qui menace son frère aîné), Yasmin Ahmad poursuit le récit bientôt brisé de ce premier amour avec une élégance qui n'évite pas toujours la mièvrerie, mais qui offre aussi des moments de grâce.

Difficile, à ce dernier égard, d'oublier cette admirable scène filmée de l'intérieur de l'appartement des parents d'Orked, où la jeune fille et sa famille écoutent la sublime interprétation de Ne me quitte pas par Nina Simone, tandis qu'à l'extérieur, plongé dans la nuit, le jeune Muksin guette en vain un signe de réconciliation de son aimée. Mais elle le laissera longtemps souffrir, trop longtemps pour éviter les regrets de ne pas l'avoir retenu à temps et de l'avoir laissé partir à tout jamais.

Que le lecteur ne nous tienne pas trop rigueur de révéler ce qui n'est après tout un secret pour personne, que les premières amours ne sont jamais aussi belles et poignantes que parce qu'elles s'embrasent le temps d'un été, en laissant ce goût de cendres qui fait le lit de toutes les conquêtes ultérieures. Tout tient donc à la manière de les convoquer et de les célébrer, celle de Yasmin Ahmad étant en l'occurrence tout à fait recommandable."

- Jacques Mandelbaum

"Tora-san, Our Beloved Tramp." Now officially my absolute favourite film of all time.

2008-02-03T13:44:00.001-08:00

tora-san poster
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

It was released in 1969, written and directed by Yoji Yamada.

I saw it over the weekend, and it simply took my breath away.

It was the first in a series of Tora-san stories which through the years amounted to a staggering total of 48 films.

Everything I have ever wanted to achieve in my own silly little amateur films -- slice of life of regular folks, peppered with tragic as well as comic moments, in a heartfelt story that is told through fond eyes -- is contained, TEN-FOLD, in this deceptively simple work of a true master storyteller.

In a few days' time, I shall be leaving for Berlin, and should be back, God-willing, by the 18th of February. Upon my return, I plan to hold a private screening of this film in our office amphitheatre, at 8:00pm on Thursday night, the 21st of February.

Reserve your place now, as our theatre can only seat twenty people!

It's a first-book-first-placed arrangement, and as always, regulars in the comments box get first priority, and those who don't turn up will be denied a place at the next screening.

Now I need a volunteer to coordinate the reservations. Any volunteers? Wira? Faiz perhaps?

Are Malaysians qualified to judge at international film festivals?

2008-01-29T02:44:00.001-08:00

jury
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

Four Malaysians have been entrusted with jury duties at three festivals around the world. Alhamdulillah.

This would be the third time judging for me, after the Fajr International Film Festival (Iran) and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Greece). And last year, Amir judged at the Osian Cinefan Film Festival in India.

In any case, the list of Malaysians, and the international festivals in which they're judging in 2008, is as follows:

Ho Yuhang -- 37th International Film Festival Rotterdam

Wong Tuck Cheong -- 37th International Film Festival Rotterdam

Amir Muhammad -- Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, France

Yasmin Ahmad -- 58th Berlin International Film Festival (International Jury, Generations category)

Strangely, I think I learn more about filmmaking from judging than participating at international festivals. Being surrounded by filmmakers who are infinitely more accomplished than yourself is such an enriching experience.

And you know what else? I wager none of the names above will ever be picked to judge at Festival Filem Malaysia!

Something spooky.

2008-01-17T04:27:00.001-08:00

ernst lubitsch (1892-1947)
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

Less than a week ago, a Dutch festival curator named Raymond Walravens came to my office.

Having seen "Mukhsin" at last year's Pusan International Film Festival, he expressed interest in seeing the rough cut of "Muallaf".

So I played it for him in our amphitheatre.

After the screening, he leaned towards me and said in utmost seriousness, "You're very much influenced by Ernst Lubitsch, aren't you?"

I leaned back and said, "I've never seen a Lubitsch film in my life. But of course I've heard of him, mainly by reading articles and watching documentaries about Yasujiro Ozu, my other cinematic idol apart from Charlie Chaplin."

Ozu, you see, was a great fan of Ernst Lubitsch, and I daresay, was influenced by him. So I asked Raymond what it was about my films that made him say that.

"In Lubitsch's films," he replied, "people express their affections openly, and the tragic is often placed alongside the comic."

Since then, I got hold of a late Lubitsch film called "Ninotchka", thanks to a tip from my good friend Ho Yuhang.

I was spellbound. A romantic, free-spirited Frenchman falls in love with a serious and glum Russian lady. He breaks her tough exterior by teaching her to laugh and embrace life.

It was a two and a half hour long film that made me laugh and cry at the same time. "Laugh and cry at the same time." And this is where it gets spooky.

After one screening of "Gubra" at last year's Golden Horse festival, a young film student named Lin Ru-Yu slipped a piece of paper into my hand. I still have it with me. In it was written these words:

"Although you said at the end of your film that there was nothing, I saw some ambition to reach something superior, compared to everyday life... I'd like to thank you for your films and your talks. It has been a long time since I last laughed and cried at the same..."

Ernst Lubitsch died of a heart attack in 1947. That's eleven whole years before I was even born. And yet, his influence on a Japanese man named Yasujiro Ozu, and in turn, Ozu's influence on this amateur filmmaker from Malaysia, has created an indelible chain of knowledge and artistic expression.

The world is ONE. Just as God himself is ONE.

I am reminded of a poem in Rabindranath Tagore's "The Gardener". It was poem number 85 in the book, and it went like this:

"Who are you, reader,
reading my poems
a hundred years hence?
I cannot send you one single flower
from this wealth of the spring,
one single streak of gold from yonder clouds.
Open your doors and look abroad.
From your blossoming garden
gather fragrant memories of the vanished flowers
of a hundred years before.
In the joy of your heart may you feel
the living joy that sang
one spring morning,
sending its glad voice
across a hundred years."

It sends shivers up my spine.

Nominations for The Norwegian Peace Film award.

2008-01-08T00:01:00.001-08:00

flag of norway
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

The Norwegian Peace Film Award is given to a film spotlighting direct, structural or cultural violence, and which in a creative way contributes to the prevention or reduction of violence and war.

Tromsø International Film Festival, together with the Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) at the University of Tromsø, and the Student Network for Peace (SNF), has established this prize because of the power in film and storytelling. We believe that films focusing on oppression and abuse of power can make a difference.

The nominees are:

AND ALONG CAME THE TOURISTS
Germany

THE BAND’S VISIT
Israel, France, USA

DRY SEASON
France, Chad

EDUART
Greece, Germany

GUBRA
Malaysia

KAUTOKEINO-OPPRØRET
Norway

LA ZONA
Mexico

LITTLE MOTH
China

MUNYURANGABO
Rwanda, USA

NANKING
USA

WHAT REMAINS OF US
Canada

Win or lose, I'm just grateful that a film from Malaysia is there. Alhamdulillah.

Please read this, Mr Politician.

2007-12-30T08:34:00.001-08:00

rumi bridge
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

The story of Jelaluddin Rumi’s funeral in the year 1273 is well known. People of every religion -- Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus -- came to pay their last respects. When the non-Muslims were asked why they had come to the funeral, their reply was simple: “He deepens us wherever we are.”

It is said that it was his meeting with Shams Tabriz which provided the key to Rumi’s inclusivity. For it was Shams who once said that if the Kaaba were suddenly lifted up out of the world, we would see that each person is really bowing, five times a day, to his fellow human beings.

Today, of course, more often than not, it is greed and suspicion towards our “fellow human beings” which determine the course of our actions.

Where did we go wrong?

In his introduction to this new compilation of poems by Rumi, translator Coleman Barks suggested how the relationship between his home country, the United States, and Iran, may have gone wrong.

“From recently released documents, I understand it is clear now that the United States, in that year (1953), overthrew a democratically elected government in Iran and installed a dictator, the Shah. We did this because Mohammad Mossadegh, a tall, elegant, eloquent, beloved statesman with a European education decided, in 1951, to nationalise Iran’s oil industry. He thought it appropriate that Iran owns its own resources, for God’s sake.

“Throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, oil profits went mostly to Great Britain. During that time Iran was getting about 16 per cent of the money from the oil taken out of its home ground by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, which later became BP, British Petrol. Churchill wanted to invade Iran and take back the oil fields. Truman would have none of it. Then Eisenhower came to power and the CIA and the British MI6 conspired to arrange a coup. Kermit Roosevelt and Norman Schwarzkopf Sr., among others, were generously funded and sent secretly to Iran for the covert action. After it was successful and the Shah came to power, the profits were divvied up 50 per cent to England, 40 per cent to the United States, and 10 per cent to Iran.”

What would Jelaluddin Rumi or Shams Tabriz have to say about this blatant act of terrorism?

“Come out here where the roses have opened.
Let soul and world meet.

The sun has drawn a fine-tempered blade of light.
We may as well surrender.

Laugh at the ugly arrogance you see.
Weep for those separated from the friend.

The city seethes with rumour.
Some madman has escaped the prison.

Or is a revolution beginning?
What day is it?

Is this when all we have done and been
will be publicly known?

With no thinking and no emotion,
with no ideas about the soul,
and no language,
these drums are saying how empty we are.”

Would Churchill and Eisenhower have paused to reconsider their actions had they heard such a call? Or would business have gone ahead as planned?

“Why does the soul not fly
when it hears the call?

Why does a fish, gasping on land,
but near the water,
not move back into the sea?

What keeps us from joining the dance
the dust particles do?

Look at their subtle motions
in sunlight.

We are out of our cages
with our wings spread,
yet we do not lift off.”

This year, 2007, marks Rumi’s 800th birthday. The strange motley entourage which gathered on the day of his funeral somehow indicates a sort of pluralism, now frowned upon by certain quarters.

Me, I’m too ignorant to take sides here. There are mighty arguments for and against pluralism, no doubt, and the proponents of each will present a seemingly air-tight case.

And yet, all it takes is one tiny pin prick, does it not, for us to be able to breathe again?

Coleman Barks cited a Saadi poem carved in Farsi on the wall just inside the door of the United Nations building in New York.

“Human beings come
from the same source.
We are one family.

If one part of the body hurts,
all parts contract with pain.

If you are not concerned
with another’s suffering,
we shall not call you human.”

Perhaps every world leader would do well to pick up this book and read it, carefully and with an open heart. Thereafter, he should seek a place of solitude for a while, to take stock of who he is, what he has done, and what he’s about to do. There has been too much talk.

“A wealth you cannot imagine
flows through you.

Do not consider what strangers say.
Be secluded in your secret heart-house,
that bowl of silence.

Talking, no matter how humble-seeming,
is really a kind of bragging.”

Recently, Coleman Barks was awarded an honorary doctorate in Persian and literature by the University of Tehran for his thirty years of translating Rumi. Now he has collected and translated ninety new poems, most of them never published before in any form. And he has done so in a book, aptly titled “Rumi: Bridge to the Soul”.

Girls, do you think Kevjumba is cute?

2007-12-27T09:58:00.001-08:00

kevjumba
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

Riding into Taiwan, on a Golden Horse.

2007-12-20T08:08:00.001-08:00

open mouth in taipei
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

When I was little, long before I even knew where Berlin, Cannes or Venice were, I had only ever heard of two film festivals. The Oscars, and the Chinese Oscars.

And so when the folks at Golden Horse asked me about holding a retrospective tribute of my films, I ran down our office corridor, screaming, "I'm going to the Chinese Oscars! Yee-har! I'm going to the Chinese Oscars!"

It was one of the best times I've ever had with my clothes on.

Thank you, Golden Horse. Thank you, Ah Sen, Ah Ling, Tess, Steve, Ron, Ted, Diva, and all those people in Taipei who made me feel so at home, so cared for, and asked such genuinely intelligent questions about film, not just some half-baked, ill-informed pontifications that I often get from bitter people at FINAS Sesi Apresiasi Filem.

I miss my Golden Horse!

Did I die and not know it?

2007-12-11T04:38:00.001-08:00

Mummy!
Originally uploaded by yasmin the storyteller

To date, five festivals have held "retrospectives" of my work. That is to say, they screened "Rabun", "Sepet", "Gubra", and "Mukhsin", two or three times each, during the course of their festival.

These festivals were, in chronological order:

1. The Tokyo International Film Festival, 2006.

2. A special tribute by the University of Hawaii, Honolulu 2006.

3. The Osaka Asian Film Festival, 2007.

4. The Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Greece 2007.

5. The Golden Horse International Film Festival, Taipei 2007.

And I've got about two or three more retrospectives lined up for next year, in various parts of Asia and Europe. Alhamdulillah.

Now, a "retrospective" has been defined by one dictionary as, "...any exhibition or series of showings or performances, as of musical works or motion pictures, representing the work of an artist or performer, over all or a major part of his/her career: for example, "a retrospective of John Ford's movies".

This is interesting to me for two reasons.

Firstly, if what I've done so far constitutes "all or a major part of a career", then my "career" as a filmmaker is either over, or coming to a close! Or worse, that I, like John Ford before me, am DEAD.

Secondly, this throws new light upon Yusof Haslam's claim that foreign festivals like the Berlinale, NETPAC, and Cinemanila gave "Mukhsin" awards only because they hadn't seen my other works.

His basic contention was that if they HAD seen my previous films, they would not have been so impressed with "Mukhsin".

And THAT was why he, as the head of the jury for this year's Festival Filem Malaysia, did not regard "Mukhsin" as fit for any nomination in any of the main categories.

But seriously folks, despite the fact that he was disgracefully off the mark regarding international festivals not seeing my other films, I think perhaps there is some truth in what Yusof Haslam was saying. I still believe that I don't know the first thing about filmmaking.

And before you accuse me of displaying "false humility", let me tell you a little story; a rough recollection of a conversation I had with someone I met in Taipei:

During one Q&A session at the recent Golden Horse Film Festival, a professor who taught film at a local university asked if I would agree to give some lectures to his course attendees.

Violently shaking my head and waving both hands in embarrassment, I exclaimed, "No, no, no, no, no! I have nothing to teach, because I KNOW nothing!"

To which he replied, "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! And I don't want you to TEACH anything, I just want you to share the experiences you've had, while making your films."

"But...," I protested, "I just follow my feelings, one scene at a time!"

"Well then, explain to me, and my students, one scene at a time, how you managed to create those scenes that moved us so much."

Suddenly, all the flak I had ever received in my own country from the likes of Yusof Haslam, Akmal Abdullah, Ismail Ahmad, Raja Azmi, Mansor Puteh, and Abu Hassan came flooding back to mind. I immediately excused myself by telling the Taiwanese film lecturer that I needed to go to the Ladies.

Once inside, I got into a cubicle, locked the door, buried my face in my hands, and did something which I can't explain to this day.

I cried.

Have I found my Raju for "Talentime"?

2007-12-03T09:34:00.001-08:00

Meet Mahesh. He has that "something" that I'm looking for in my Raju. That X factor.

If I had met him when I was 16, would I have fallen for him? Is Paris a city? Does Superman wear his underwear on the outside?

He is 17-years old and his full name is Mahesh Jugal Kishor. I've only just found out that he's half Gujerati, a quarter Tamilian, and a quarter Chinese.

There'll be more Raju candidates in the coming weeks, inshaallah. But this one certainly has that... something.

Muallaf. A rough trailer.

2007-12-01T18:31:00.000-08:00